As the tempretures drop it’s time to create warmer lunches & there is no more classic french dish than Beouf bourguignon.

Beautiful ” Salers ” beef cheeks cooked down very slowly in Red Bordeaux wine with shallots, garlic, girolles, thyme & carrots. Finished with more carrots, smoked bacon & parsley

The perfect lunch on deck cruising the canal with a glass of Saint Emilion.

Beef Bourguignon

1.5kg     Beef cheeks trimmed & cut into 2 cm cube

2.           Carrots sliced

12           Banana Shallots halved

1            Head of garlic halved

2 bottles Red wine full bodied

2 sprigs. Thyme

2.            Bay leaves

200g.      Girolles wild mushrooms, button or chestnut will do.

300g.       Smoked bacon lardons

1 bunch.  Parsley

Sweat gently the carrots, shallots & garlic, when soften remove from pan turn up the heat, flour the beef with seasoned flour and brown in a little oil and butter, when all the beef is sealed deglaze the pan with a little red wine, then return carrots, shallots & beef to pan & top with garlic, bay & thyme, cover with the rest of the wine & simmer gently with lid on for 2 hours.

After 2 hours check seasoning, add the mushrooms & simmer very gently for another hour to gently reduce the sauce & finish cooking, it may need a little longer depending on the beef used.

When cooked remove the garlic head & bay leaves, serve topped with steamed carrots, fried bacon lardons & chopped parsley.

Don’t forget the bottle of Bordeaux Medoc to drink with it !.