My current attitude to the weather is to embrace it. At least I can enjoy cosy dinners and make hearty, warming dishes. So, stew it is then. My eye was caught by an unusual recipe called "beet bourguignon" from David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl's Green Kitchen cookbook. The book looks fab - quite a few unusual combinations, and they've thought about dishes that are healthy as well as tasting good.
This particular recipe is based on Julia Childs' recipe for beef bourguignon, but with beetroot instead of beef. Sounds a little odd, but worth trying, I thought.
I made a loose adaptation of the recipe to fit in with what ingredients I already had or could get hold of easily. So I used button mushrooms instead of the portobello and crimini mushrooms. Crimini, or cremini, mushrooms, were new to me, but are basically a slightly more mature button mushroom, or a baby portobello - they're all the same variety of mushroom at a different stage of life. I used extra brown onions instead of the pearl onions, and cornflour instead of arrowroot. I also saved time and washing-up by adding the mushrooms along with the beetroot and carrot instead of cooking them separately. I cut down on the oil, too, to make it lower in fat.
The stew is served with puy lentils - I have to admit I've never thought of using lentils in this way, like you might have mashed potatoes or rice. But it works in terms of texture and flavour, and is probably more nutritious too. I had plain green lentils rather than puy lentils, but they worked fine - just make sure not to overcook them so they don't break up and lose their texture.
As you might have guessed, it's not as rich as a beef bourguignon, but it's still got plenty of flavour, with some sweetness from the beetroot and carrot. It's also one of the deepest red things I've put on my plate in a long time. It feels just right for a cold evening in, waiting for spring.
Beet bourguignon (my adaptation - see the original here)
Serves four (leftovers will keep fine in the fridge for a couple of days if there are just two of you)
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 small beetroot, peeled and cut into large pieces
6 carrots, sliced into large pieces
3 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
tomato purée 2 tbsp (or half a tin chopped tomatoes)
250ml red wine
500ml vegetable stock
400g puy lentils
1 pack mushrooms - button, large or somewhere in between
2 tsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with a little water
fresh thyme, to garnish (optional)
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft. Add the beetroot, carrots, mushrooms, bay leaves and thyme into the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the tomato purée or tinned tomatoes, red wine and vegetable stock and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 1 litre of water and the lentils to the boil. Lower the heat to medium and simmer gently for around 20 minutes or until cooked. Season to taste. Drain off any excess water, cover and set aside.
Taste the stew and add more wine, stock or herbs if you like. Check if the carrots and beetroot are tender, and cook a bit longer if necessary. Add the cornflour mixture. Stir gently, until thickened. You can add more cornflour mixture if you like a thicker stew. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving. Spoon the stew and lentils into 4 bowls, and sprinkle with fresh thyme.
No comments:
Post a Comment