Beef bourguignon to me is a beef stew braised in red wine, and beef stock, which are cooked with carrots, onions, garlic, and a bouquet garni, and garnished with onions, mushrooms, and bacon for delicious flavoursome meal as well as full meal.
This stew goes well with mashed potatoes, green beans, or a loaf of bread. When I am having guests, I would rather used mashed potatoes as a hearty comfort meal and of course with a glass of red wine. Since I am cooking it for Friday dinner; which in my family Friday we usually have pasta or lasagne or pizza. Most of the time eat out pizza.
My family wanted something different today, they don’t want meatballs in tomato sauce nor white sauce. I know for a fact, everyone in the world do have a hearty comfort meal of stew. There are many different styles of cooking so too the name of the stew.
So I search and found a handful of stew beef. I found this simple easy cooking called beef bourguignon from ilovepasta as it includes pasta. Well, I am always looking for ideas and recreated this ilovepasta to make my own version. The original linked is attached at the bottom.
My stew is as simple hearty comfort delicious and different to the normally Friday dinner meal. Let’s cook and enjoy pasta night with family and its a great union as now a days you seldom have family sitting down together to eat.
Ingredients
50 g unsalted butter
800 g beef rump, minced with food processor
2 Tbsp plain flour
120 g bacon with fat rinds, cut into sticks
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 thinly sliced carrot
1 leek, cut thinly ring shape
250 ml beef stock
1 bottle pinot noir or red wine such as sav/semillion
1 bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, sage), tied with string
24 button mushrooms, sliced and stems trimmed
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 spring onion cut to garnish
1 Tsp black pepper plus more to taste
½ Teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 packet spiral pasta, cook as per instruction on packet
Method
Heat butter in a large cast-iron casserole pot over medium heat and brown the beef minced for 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and cook for further 4 minutes, season beef with salt and pepper, then transfer with to a plate.
Cook the bacon in the same cast-iron casserole for about 3 minutes, then add garlic, onion, celery,and carrots to the pot; sauté until softened for about 7-10 minutes.
Return the beef to the pot, add diced tomatoes, tomato paste,the beef stock and bring to the boil. Add red wine and bouquet garni and season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours over low heat, until the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency. Add the mushrooms during the final 20 minutes of cooking, stirring continuously, for sauce to reduce further.
Allow to cool slightly before serving with the hot cooked pasta sprinkled with cut spring onion.
Note: you can use fettuccine or any pasta of your choice,or mashed potatoes. You can use any red wine of your choice. You can omit spring onions.
Recreated kofta curry from +maria nasir. I use bought chicken meatballs from IKEA to make this a delicious curry, I cook the chicken meatballs and vegetables in a rich, creamy and extra spicy curry.
I prefer my curry to be creamy and extra spicy to my palate and satisfied. Being creative I have also added Hen of the woods (fungus/mushrooms) to “gives it’s a distinct citrus flavour, and its a robust appetising citrus finish to the palate. It’s meaty, with a soft floral nose look, thus it’s more intense then the cultivated, as a result of it growing wild”.
Ingredients 20 chicken meatballs (bought) 2 medium size carrots, cut into bite size 2-3 kumato (green tomatoes), cut into wedges 1 medium eggplant, cut into bite size 1 small green capsicum, cut into bite size 1 small bunch of Hen of the woods (Fungus/ mushrooms)- given by friend (opt) 8 Tbs olive oil 2-4 Tbs XO chilli sauce, (given by friend) 2-3 star anise seed 1 Spanish onion medium, sliced 2 Tbs cayenne powder 1 Tbs garlic finely chopped 1 Tbs garam masala and mint powder 1 Tbs sweet Hungarian paprika 1 Tbs ginger powder 1/2 Tbs cumin powder 2 Tsp salt (adjust per taste) 1 Tsp coriander powder 1 Tsp cardamom powder 1 Tsp chilli flakes 1 can (400 g) diced tomatoes 1 small can 165 ml coconut milk 1 1/4 cup chicken stock ground white pepper Continental parsley for garnish
Method
Heat oil in a cast iron over medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden brown. Then ginger and garlic; stir about 2 minutes. Next garam masala-mint, paprika, cardamom, cayenne,cumin, coriander, salt and mix well.
Once fragrance smell, add ground white pepper, XO chilli sauce, chilli flakes; stir 2 minutes. Next add carrots cook 3 minutes. Now add eggplants, chicken meatballs, green capsicum, diced tomatoes, green tomatoes,and make sure its cooked through.
Once meatballs and vegetables softened and cooked; add coconut milk and stir thoroughly. Add hen of the woods, which give a distinctive taste to this dish.
Last, add chicken stock and stir (adjust stock as needed). Let it simmer about 25 minutes; curry thicken and reduced a bit. Adjust seasoning and curry consistency as needed. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
Sprinkle continental parsley leaves on the top. Serve with rice and a glass of red wine.
Enjoy!!!!!
Note: I cut hen of the woods into bite size. You may want drizzle cream or whipped yogurt on top. You may use brown, basmati rice or tandoori naan (Indian flat bread). You may place chicken meatballs in oven to cooked then transfer to curry. I decided to cook my chicken meatballs with the curry. Its gives a soft bite to the crispy meatballs if put in oven.
Search the meaning of hen of the woods on google for more information.
Recreated kofta curry from +maria nasir. I use bought chicken meatballs from IKEA to make this a delicious curry, I cook the chicken meatballs and vegetables in a rich, creamy and extra spicy curry.
I prefer my curry to be creamy and extra spicy to my palate and satisfied. Being creative I have also added Hen of the woods (fungus/mushrooms) to “gives it’s a distinct citrus flavour, and its a robust appetising citrus finish to the palate. It’s meaty, with a soft floral nose look, thus it’s more intense then the cultivated, as a result of it growing wild”.
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Ingredients
20 chicken meatballs (bought)
2 medium size carrots, cut into bite size
2-3 kumato (green tomatoes), cut into wedges
1 medium eggplant, cut into bite size
1 small green capsicum, cut into bite size
1 small bunch of Hen of the woods (Fungus/ mushrooms)- given by friend (opt)
My brother in law friend gave a huge snapper. He caught it by boat somewhere in the sea by the Peninsula. Last night, I roasted it with vegetables as we are celebrating one of my nephew birthday.
Although snapper looks a slight dark charred; its tender juicy from Masala wine and lemon juice. I am relieved and happy that my first time cooking a huge whole snapper and vegetables are delicious.
The aroma Mediterranean spices gives it a satisfying palate and stomach to each of us at dinner. We finished the huge snapper.
Followed by serving up birthday cake, blowing cake and eating another spice dessert -apple cinnamon cake. Recipe coming soon.
Enjoy!!!!!
Ingredients
1 huge whole red snapper, cleaned and gutted
4 Tbs garlic, minced with a bit oil
4 Tsp cumin powder
4 Tsp coriander powder
4 Tsp ginger powder
4 Tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
4 Tsp chilli powder
3 Tsp dried oregano
3 Tsp Moroccan powder
3 Tsp Baharat powder
3 Tsp salt
3 Tsp black peppercorns, pound finely
3 stalks fresh dill
3 colours and types of cherries tomatoes
3 colours capsicum, sliced into bite sizes
1 medium fennel, sliced thinly
1 medium Spanish onion, sliced thinly
2 lemons, 1 sliced to stuff in snapper and the other for sides
some fronds to stuff in snapper, perhaps 3
a few splashes of Marsala wine (Opt)
olive oil
Method
Preheat oven 220 degrees C. Pat snapper dry. With a sharp knife, trim off tail a bit to fit into double lined and lightly oil foil baking tray. Then cut off fins and make 5 slits on each side of snapper. Next stuff gut cavity, and push into slits minced garlic with oil. Leave snapper on clean sink board while prepare spices.
To make the spice: combine all the spices powder, salt, and pepper in a deep plate. Use about 3/4 spice rub inside on both sides; pat the spices into the fish pushing into the slits. Set aside remainder 1/4 spice for vegetables.
Place stuffed and rub spices snapper in the prepared baking tray. Next stuff gut cavity with dill, fronds and a some lemon slices.
Sprinkle vegetables with remaining spices and drizzle with oil. Spoon vegetables around snapper with remaining lemon slices. Splash a few splash of Masala wine and generously drizzle oil over everything in tray.
Place baking tray on the lowest oven rack. Roast for 28-30 minutes until snapper and vegetables are cooked through; charred slightly snapper. Serve it straight from oven in baking tray and I squeeze juice from lemon I stuff in the snapper using tong all over it before spooning to individual plate. Serve it with rice, Chinese broccoli, and shredded chicken my mom made and my dad bought sweet and sour spare ribs.
Note: oven temperature may vary depending on size of snapper and how many. You might need less time if you don’t want a charred snapper.
You may use fresh lemon juice to squeeze the juice all over the snapper. You can serve portion snapper using the slits. Serve it with wedges of the remaining lemon and salad.
Just imagine eating the same meal as the Israelites did for forty years. They got creative: baking it, boiling it . But oh!!! how they missed the good food they had enjoyed in Egypt even though that nourishment had come at high cost of cruelty and enslavement!
We too may sometimes resent that our food isn’t what it once was. Or perhaps the “sameness” of food has caused us to discontent.
Do not give up hope. We can still survive when we have faith: God will provide for us. He gives us abundantly may it be resources or natural gifts to fills our soul with “good things”. I am using what God had given me and am sharing it with you.
Instead of pasta or meat meal all the time; let go for seafood to live up our curb for a better nourishment and satisfying meal.
This is healthy delicious creative colourful and satisfying main meal that will make your mouth dripping water!!!! Also various method to liven up your plate with different method of cooking your meat if you insisted on having meat. I have attached the recipe below.
Ingredients 1 packet crumbed whiting mini fillets (bought) a hand full of Brussel sprouts, stem removed 1 carrot, stem removed and cut into bite size 1 celery, cut into bite size A few squirts of mayonnaise *Note* 2 Tsp crispy prawns chilli sauce (bought) 2 Tsp XO chilli sauce ( given by friend) salt and pepper oil
Method
Preheat oven 200 degree C. Line tray with foil and place fillets. Meantime, bring water to simmering and add salt, Brussels sprouts , carrot and celery.
Then place tray in oven baked the fillets for 12 minutes or until cooked golden crispy. Removed from oven plate up with boiled vegetables. Next drizzle mayo, crispy prawns and XO sauce. Serve with pear cider.
