I have wanted to make this famous dish for some time, and finally had a free Saturday afternoon to do so. It was so worth it. I had a wonderful time in the kitchen and learned some new techniques, such as how to properly sauté mushrooms. Julia said the dish would taste even better the next day, so I popped it in the fridge and we had a lovely Sunday dinner that was ready in less than 30 minutes. As Julia suggested, I served the boeuf bourguignon with potatoes and buttered peas.

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, use nitrite-free bacon (I cut bacon slices in to strips), red wine with a sulfite content of less than 10 parts per million, all-natural beef stock (I used Imagine chicken stock and it worked just fine) and butter with no colour added.

Cut bacon in thin strips, called lardons

Pat the beef dry so it will brown properly

Brown the beef well

Remove the meat and brown the vegetables

Recombine the meat and vegetables and cook slowly in the oven

While the stew cooks, braise onions with a bouquet garni

Properly sauteed mushrooms will turn brown and "squeak" in the pan

Simmer everything together before serving

Serve Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon with potatoes and buttered peas

Ingredients

One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon

3½ tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)

2½ to 3½ cups brown beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

18 to 24 white onions, small

3½ tablespoons butter

Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Preparation:

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks ¼ -inch thick and 1½ inches long).

Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 ½ quarts water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides.

Add it to the lardons.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.

Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat 1½ tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.

Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.

Add ½ cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.

Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.

Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.

Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.

Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2½ cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon

lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Recipe may be made in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15-20 minutes before serving, bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck

Beef bourguignon