Step back in time, Beef Bourguignon.

Decadent, meaty, rich dishes don’t normally come from my frugal kitchen. These dishes are reserved for special occasions, for meals eaten out, or as a treat.

Recently, however, food safari (along with Guillaume Brahimi, of Guillaume at Bennelong fame) convinced me that taking a step back in time (oh, the mp3 playlist at work is terrible) and making a meaty, rich and decadent Beef Bourguignon was the right thing to do. And in this freezing weather, there is nothing better than a house smelling sweetly of homeliness, and a steaming bowl of hearty winter fare while snuggling under a blanket and watching bad Sunday night teevee. The soft encouragement whispering from F. during the meal enforced that I had done a good thing – and how could cooking up a whole bunch of meats in wine with eschallots and mushrooms not be a good thing?

The recipe called for waygu (!!), but I used trusty $7/kg gravy beef, which melted from my fork, cheapish (yet drinkable) red wine and salty smoky speck, so while being indulgent, this dish was surprisingly affordable too.

And while this weather keeps up Beef Bourguignon will be a regular in my kitchen.

Beef Bourguignon
Adapted from Guillaume Brahimi (via food safari)

1kg gravy beef (or waygu, as the original recipe called for, if you want to burn some cash), cubed.
300g speck, cubed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled, halved and sliced
2 celery sticks- leaves intact, halved then sliced
2 onion, peeled and chopped
5 eschallots
10 sprigs of thyme
7 bay leaves
1 bunch of parsley
750ml red wine, brought to the boil and simmered to remove acidity
Salt & pepper to taste
300g button mushrooms
2T butter and 2T flour, kneaded to a roux to thicken at the end.

Heat 1/2 the olive oil in a large saucepan and brown the beef in batches. Then, in the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add all the vegetables except mushrooms. Cook for about 5 mins, then add the beef, herbs (except parsley) and stir. Top with boiled wine, season, cover and bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for about 40 mins.

Add mushrooms and stir. In a separate bowl, whisk some hot liquid into the roux until smooth. Whisk into remaining liquid, and cook for a further 10 mins, or until the liquid has thickened slightly and the mushrooms are cooked.

Stir in chopped parsley, check for seasoning and serve with crushed potatoes and crisp blanched snow peas.