Red Wine & Brandy Beef Bourguignon

Serves 12

Takes 5 hours 30 minutes, plus overnight marinating

A dish really couldn’t much more comforting than a steaming bowl of beef bourguignon. Traditionally, the beef is roasted whole, then sliced into generous chunks and stirred into the rich sauce and we certainly haven’t deviated from the plan. A whole rolled joint of rump is a fantastic cut for this dish, you don’t want this to be falling apart through the stew, cooking this way will keep it as nice tender chunks for you to really dig into. Decadent with two slugs of wine and a splash of brandy for good measure. A big pot of this will ensure you impress, as well as fill the bellies of at least 12 people.

1. The night before you want to cook, place the beef in a deep pot or baking dish and pour ½ bottle of red wine all over along with a pinch of salt, cover and place in the fridge to marinate overnight.
2. Remove the beef from the fridge 2 hours before you want to cook.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C fan.
4. In a large Dutch oven, place the white onions, potato chunks, 2 of the 5 carrots, ½ bulb of garlic and the parsnip into the bottom. Pour in 200ml water then take the beef out of the red wine marinade and place on top. Keep the red wine marinade for later.
5. Season with a little salt and pepper, pop a lid on and place in the oven to pot roast for 4 hours.
6. Remove from the oven and take the beef out and place on a wooden board to rest, covered tightly with foil.
7. Using a handheld blender, or food processor, blend the roasted veg into a thick paste. Set aside in a bowl for later – this will help thicken the bourguignon sauce whilst also adding extra flavour and goodness to the stew.
8. Whilst the beef is resting, you can begin on the bourguignon. Set a large pot on a medium heat with 2 tbsp olive oil, add in the bacon lardons and fry until browned and the fat has rendered into the pan. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside for later.
9. Add the shallots, crushed garlic cloves, the 3 remaining carrots and thyme sprigs, fry until the veg has softened slightly and smelling fragrant.
10. Squeeze in the tomato puree and cook out for 4 minutes.
11. Add the flour and fry until it absorbs all the oils and the pan becomes quite dry.
12. Pour in the red wine, brandy and the red wine marinade at this stage, this will begin the deglazing process. Scrape up the gnarly bits from the bottom of the pan as this is all flavour. Cook off the alcohol for 6 minutes then add in the beef stock and Worcestershire sauce.
13. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down to low-medium, add the bacon lardons and 3 tbsp of the blended veg from earlier, (if you have a lot left over, you can keep for future cooks, simply add some stock and you have a lovely soup) blip away for 30 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce.
14. Whilst the sauce is reducing, take the roast beef and slice into thick chunks, add to the stew for the final 20 minutes of cooking, stirring well to combine. Add in the sugar then season to taste with salt and pepper at this stage.
15. Set a separate pan on a medium heat and add the knob of butter, melt down then add in the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cook for 10 minutes until golden and softened. Remove from the heat and transfer to the stew, stirring well to combine.
16. Turn the heat off and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Remove the thyme sprigs as best you can and ladle into bowls, we serve ours with buttery mash for real comfort food. Finish with a final sprinkle of chopped parsley for freshness, enjoy!

• 3kg rolled rump of beef (ask your butcher to do this for you)
• ½ bottle red wine (we opted for a chianti)
• 2 large white onions, peeled and halved
• 3 large potatoes, cut into rough chunks
• ½ bulb of garlic, light crushed, skins on
• 1 parsnip, skin on, roughly chopped into chunks
• Olive oil, for frying
• 1kg smoked bacon lardons
• 5 banana shallots, peeled and halved
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 5 large carrots, cut into rough chunks
• 120ml red wine
• 120ml brandy
• 3 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 5ooml beef stock
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• Knob of butter
• 350g chestnut mushrooms
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Handful of parsley, roughly chopped for garnish