This recipe is from Levana Kirschenbaum’s new cookbook, The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen.
Spend a wonderful evening with a few French classics and some wine to go with dinner! By the way, my bourguignon has been included in Joan Schwartz’s charming book, deceptively innocent, called Meat and Potatoes. My secret ingredient here is crème de cassis, the wonderful black currant liqueur. To peel tiny onions, throw them in a pot of boiling water for just one minute: The skins will slip right off. Better yet, get frozen tiny onions (also called cocktail onions). This dish reheats very well and improves with age, so go ahead and make it a day or two ahead.
Ingredients:
4 pounds beef or bison shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes for stew
6 cups water
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups dry red wine
¼ cup crème de cassis (liquor stores; Passover: use a nice berry liqueur)
2 large tomatoes, diced small
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
6 bay leaves, or 1 teaspoon ground
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only (or throw the sprigs in whole, but don’t forget to discard them at the end of cooking)
2 pounds very thin long carrots, peeled (about 20. Not baby carrots)
20 very small organic potatoes, scrubbed (only organic potatoes are safe with skins on)
2 dozen tiny onions, peeled and left whole (frozen OK: they are already peeled)
On a stove top: Place beef, water, and oil in a heavy, wide-bottom pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook covered for 2 hours. Add the garlic, wine, cassis, tomatoes, pepper, and bay leaves and cook 30 more minutes. Add thyme, carrots, potatoes, and onions and cook 30 more minutes. The meat should be fork-tender. Transfer meat and all vegetables on platter with a slotted spoon. If the liquid left in the pot is too thin, reduce it on a high flame until it is thickened, the consistency of maple syrup. Pour the reduced liquid over the whole dish and serve hot. Makes 8 servings.
Leave A Comment