Food of the World - France "Boeuf Bourgignon recipe"

Ingredients for 4 people:
- 2 lbs. (1 kg) beef cut into chunks (not small cubes)
- 1 bottle of red wine (tip: use a reasonable quality full-bodied wine)
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- 5 chopped cloves of garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- 10 fresh green peppercorns (if you don’t have fresh green peppercorns, ground
black pepper can be used instead)
- Olive oil
- ½ lb. (quarter kg) bacon in strips or cubes
- 20 pearl onions
- 5 medium sized carrots
- ¼ cup (70 ml) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (17 ml) tomato paste
• Marinate the beef for at least 4 hours (best over night) in the
red wine mixed with the chopped onion, garlic, bay leaves and
fresh peppercorns.
• Remove the meat from the marinade and dry with paper towel.
• In a large pan:
o Fry bacon in oil until slightly browned. Place bacon in a large
ovenproof casserole.
o Then brown the pearl onions and cubed carrots in the pan and add to
casserole.
o Then brown the meat in the pan. Depending on the size of the pan
(i.e. if it is not possible to fit all the meat into the pan), do the meat
in batches and store the meat already browned temporarily in a large
dish..
o When all the meat has been browned, put it all into the pan, sprinkle
1 tablespoon of flower and mix well while continuing to brown
(approx. 5 minutes) then add bit by bit the red wine marinade
including onions, garlic, bay leaves and fresh peppercorns and last
but not least the tomato paste. Add to casserole and mix carefully
with bacon and pearl onions.
• Cook for 2 hours (or until tender) in oven at 180 Celsius (275
Fahrenheit).
• Best served with home made spaetzle (refer to recipe
Spaetzle).
Notes:
Boeuf Bourgignon comes from the Bourgignon region of France (in English, this
region is known as Burgundy). Bougignon is famous for its rich cuisine, developed
during a time when it was one of the richest corners of Europe. It's cuisine features
beef, creamy sauces and of course wine (it is one of the two premier wine regions
of France). Perhaps it's most famous dish is Boeuf (which is French for beef)
Bourgignon, which combines all three traditions.
There are many full-bodied wines suitable for this dish. However, the Burgundy
wines are a good bet. If possible, serve a full-bodied Burgundy wine at the table to
go with the dish. Not only will it be a good match, but it shows a little extra style
(this in particular will be appreciated by French visitors, who generally believe that
food from a given region should be matched by wine from the same region).

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