Week 3 :: Supper Mushroom Bourguignon


This week's recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen. Love, love, love it. The recipes are so easy to follow and the photographs are beautiful. Back in the day, I used to visit Smitten Kitchen blog, but at the time I wasn't that into cooking. Fast forward a few years and I'm all about food.
So I've wanted to try beef bourguignon ever since I saw Julie & Julia, but felt a little intimidated by the process. you saw the movie, right? Well, Smitten Kitchen's less intimidating, you can make it on a weeknight version was appealing and needed to be made by me. This dish not only looked beautiful, it was savory and rich without being too heavy. Another one to add to my recipe file.


Smitten Kitchen's Mushroom Bourguignon 
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2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter, softened
2 lbs portobello mushrooms
1 c. pearl onions
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small onion finely diced
1 tsp thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. red wine
2 tbs tomato paste
2c beef or vegetable stock
1.5 tbs all purpose flour
egg noodles
sour cream and chopped chives (optional)


Heat the one tablespoon of the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a medium Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken, but not yet release any liquid — about three or four minutes. Remove them from pan.
Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, a few good pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute.
Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce it by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so it simmers for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are very tender. Add the pearl onions and simmer for five minutes more.
Combine remaining butter and the flour with a fork until combined; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency. Season to taste.
To serve, spoon the stew over a bowl of egg noodles, dollop with sour cream (optional) and sprinkle with chives or parsley.

since I'm cooking for two, I only used half of the ingredient amounts and we actually had enough for the dinner and one lunch.

xo, jen

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