Boeuf Vigneronne: Françoise Bernard's Beef Stew

 

The grande dame of popular French cuisine, Francoise Bernard set out to make classic French dishes accessible for everyone, paring away unnecessary flourishes to get down to a recipe's true essence. For 40 years she published and taught the principle that good food can be simple, easy, and economical. Among her rules: No recipe must have more than four steps, ingredients must be easily available, and each recipe must not have more than one tricky technique. A culinary bible featuring a thousand recipes from the legendary woman who revolutionized French cooking by simplifying recipes for the home cook, 'La Cuisine: Everyday French Home Cooking' is the culmination of her work, a collection of the best most tried-and true recipes. A comfort food classic, Bernard's Boeuf Vigneronne is a heartwarming dish made with tender beef, sweet pearl onions, mushrooms, bacon, and red wine which adds a dark, lusty colour. My husband has adapted this recipe to make it his own by using beef short ribs rather than ordinary stewing beef, and uses a whole bottle of wine for extra pizzazz.

Browned short ribs

One bottle of full bodied red wine

Shallots, garlic, carrots, browned short ribs, bouquet garni and wine cooked for 2 hours 

Pearl onions and chopped bacon are cooked until lightly browned then added to the casserole

Sautéed mushrooms added to the casserole just before serving

Served with a flurry of chopped parsley and dill for garnish

Françoise Bernard

La Cuisine: Everyday French Home Cooking 

Guy's Boeuf Vigneronne

Serves 6

Adapted recipe courtesy of Françoise Bernard

3 tbsp oil

4 1/2 lb Beef Short Ribs

3 tbsp butter

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and sliced crosswise

1 bouquet garni made with parsley, thyme and bay leaf

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 bottle full bodied red wine

1/4 lb tick cut pancetta or bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4" thick strips

12 pearl onions, peeled

1/2 lb cremini or shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and coarsely sliced

In a large sauté pan with a flat bottom and straight sides, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides, then set aside.

In a flameproof casserole, melt one tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots, garlic, carrot, and bouquet garni, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly browned. Add the browned meat and wine. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 hours. 

Meanwhile in a large frying pan, melt one tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the pancetta or bacon, and pearl onions, and cook until lightly browned. Add to the casserole and cook for 30 minutes.

In the same frying pan, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add them to the casserole just before serving. 

Remove the bouquet garni. Transfer the stew to a warmed serving dish and serve with a flurry of chopped parsley for garnish. Very nice served with buttered fingerling potatoes.