Recipe: Beef stew in red wine sauce

Ingredients

1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1kg trimmed beef flat iron or chuck steak, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 x 750ml bottle dry red wine
2 bay leaves
1 thyme sprig
1 x 140g piece of pancetta
15 baby onions, peeled
15 button mushrooms
15 baby carrots, peeled
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large cast-iron casserole, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the meat in the casserole in a single layer and season with salt and pepper.

2. Cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 8 minutes. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, 5 minutes.

3. Add the flour and stir to coat the meat with it. Add the wine, bay leaves and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.

4. Cover the casserole and transfer it to the oven. Cook the stew for 1 ½ hours, until the meat is very tender and the sauce is flavourful.

5. In a saucepan, cover the pancetta with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain the pancetta and slice it 1cm thick, then cut the slices into 2.5cm wide lardons.

6. In a large skillet, combine the pancetta, onions, mushrooms and carrots. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ¼ cup of water and a large pinch each of sugar, salt and pepper.

7. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated, 15 minutes. Uncover and cook over high heat, tossing, until the vegetables are tender and nicely browned, about 4 minutes.

8. To serve, stir some of the vegetables and lardons into the stew and scatter the rest on top as a garnish. Top with a little chopped parsley and serve.

Recipe supplied by Jacques Pépin

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