It's been a somewhat dismal spring thus far here in New York, with an endless parade of gloomy weather fronts marching into town and parking themselves squarely overhead. The occasional snowy morning a few weeks ago and far too frequent rainy afternoon in recent days led to a monumental purchase for my kitchen, in the form of a brand-new, fire engine-red Le Creuset Dutch oven. I was immediately clear on how to christen my new purchase and quell my gray-weather anxiety. I'd make a boeuf bourguignon, classic in every way, even the long cooking time.
While I normally eschew anything that keeps me from my television for too long, I took advantage of the odd day off to make a long cooking stew with hearty flavor and a decidedly French flair. Momentarily transporting myself from the Upper East Side to Paris, I spent the morning walking through the neighborhood in my classic trench, making stops at the butcher, the baker and the specialty grocer (if I'd seen a candlestick maker I'd probably have paid them a visit for good measure). The great thing about this dish is that despite the long cooking time, once you're done chopping, you're pretty much done. The rest of the time is just letting it bubble away on the stove—or, if you're feeling like all that chopping requires a post cooking nap—in the oven.
I did a lot of research before making this dish on exactly what cut of meat to use since most recipes only went so far as to say "a beef roast" or a "rump roast" and I know nothing about either. It turns out that a chuck-eye roast is the best for a beef stew according to America's Test Kitchen, and after making this dish I'm inclined to agree that it has the perfect balance of meat to fat to keep the meat moist without making the dish too fatty. But, if you're making this dish on a day that's not quite as gloriously lazy as mine was, you can always use blade steaks, which are usually right in the meat section of the grocery store. They're also thinner and would cook a little bit faster than the thick chunks of a roast would. So, whether you're feeling lazy in a truly European way and have all the time in the world, or just happen to have an extra hour to make dinner special, give this recipe a try. I promise it'll satisfy no matter how much time you have.
Boeuf Bourguignon
2 tbsps olive oil
2 cups crimini mushrooms, large ones quartered or halved
3½ lbs chuck-eye roast, cut into 1½ inch chunks
5 bacon strips, cut into ½ inch pieces
2 tbsps tomato paste
2 tbsps all-purpose flour
1 bottle medium-bodied red wine (Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir are perfect)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, smashed
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb miniature red bliss potatoes, larger ones halved
2 cups pearl onions (I used fresh, but thawed, frozen ones added at the end are fine)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Fresh parsley for garnish
salt
pepper
1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven until crispy. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and add mushrooms to pot, cooking in rendered bacon fat until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove mushrooms to the plate with the bacon and set aside.
2. Season beef generously with salt and pepper and add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. Brown beef (in batches, if necessary) until browned on all sides. Transfer meat to a plate and set aside. Pour off all but two tablespoons of the oil remaining in the pot. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly until slightly darkened in color, 2-3 minutes. Add flour and cook, continuing to stir for about 1 minute.
3. Return beef and bacon to the pot, along with wine, broth, bay leaves and garlic. Bring to a boil and cover, lowering heat to bring mixture to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours on the stove top or in the oven (at 350°F) until meat is almost completely tender, then add onions, carrots and potatoes and cook another 45 minutes further until potatoes and carrots are cooked through. Add mushrooms and cook until just heated through. Stir in butter and parsley and serve. Enjoy!
-Laura
There are a few dishes that my grandmother made for me when I was a kid that are so good, I have to make them immediately after I think about them. One of the dishes that she made that I now make is called pollo en pepitoria. It's basically a light chicken stew with some really simple ingredients used in really cool ways. Not to mention, it's a really great way to use up some random items in your fridge and pantry. A few potatoes, eggs, some nuts, even those wings you've had in the freezer forever will all go to good use in this dish.
This week, as the weather turned rainy and cold, I was reminded of the first time my grandmother made pollo en pepitoria. I was a teenager, just getting home from school on one of those blustery, is-it-rain-or-is-it-snow days. The walk home from the bus stop was brutal, not to mention slippery and damp. I usually ate a second lunch when I got home from school before doing my homework, so I was looking forward to something delicious and warming like mac and cheese. When I finally made it inside the house I was greeted by my grandparents, my dog, and a steaming hot bowl of this stew. It looked and tasted like nothing I'd ever eaten, most closely resembling a chicken soup, only with more body, a brighter color, and a few flavors that I couldn't pinpoint.
I didn't know at the time, but what gave the soup it's special flavor were ground almonds. Like several ingredients in this dish, the almonds are multi-taskers, serving to add both texture and a subtle sweetness to the broth. The canary yellow color of the broth comes from a surprising and natural source: egg yolks. Brilliant! Two hard boiled eggs are used a myriad ways, from grinding up the yolks and adding them to the broth as a thickening and coloring agent, to cutting up the whites and adding them in for texture and a nice cool topping. For years I assumed that my grandmother, a genius cook in her own right, had made up the recipe, but after consulting several cookbooks (and my mother) it turns out that it's actually a very old and popular dish in Spain.
We've always made it with wings in my family (mostly because they cook faster), but you can really use any cut of chicken on the bone, although I'd stay away from breast meat which imparts the least flavor and isn't as moist as other cuts. We've also always made it particularly soupy because that's how I like it, but if you want it to be more saucy, you can always add less water when cooking, so the sauce will be thicker and less abundant. Here's how to make it my way, but please, change it up as much as you'd like!
Pollo En Pepitoria
10 chicken drumettes (or equal quantity your favorite cut of bone-in chicken)
10 garlic cloves
1/2 cup almonds
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in large chunks
1 small onion, thinly sliced
6 cups chicken stock
2 hard boiled eggs
4 cups cold water
3 Tbsp white wine
Olive oil
1/8 tsp saffron (optional)
salt
pepper
1. In a large bowl, mix chicken with 4 minced garlic cloves and plenty of salt and pepper. Marinate mixture in the fridge for 3 hours (it can be less if you're in a hurry, but it imparts a really nice flavor if it's 3 or more).
2. While the chicken marinates, hard boil 2 eggs and set them aside.
3. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the chicken and brown on all sides (you may have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pot). Remove chicken from pot and set aside. Add onion and 3 cloves minced garlic to pot and cook until onions are caramelized. You may have to add more olive oil if it looks dry.
4. While the onions cook, grind the almonds, yolks from the hard boiled eggs, saffron and remaining garlic in a mortar and pestle. Add the white wine so the mixture becomes a thick paste. Set aside.
5. Add the chicken back to the pot along with the stock and water, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Add the almond paste mixture and diced potatoes. If you use a thicker cut of chicken than the wings, wait until the chicken is 3/4 cooked to add the potatoes.
6. While the stew cooks, thinly slice the egg whites. When the chicken and potatoes are cooked through, add eggs whites, saving a few for garnish. Plate up and enjoy!
-Laura
