Recipes for the Busy Family: Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients (serves 8)

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy-based casserole dish over medium-high heat. Cook beef, in batches, for 5 to 6 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl.
Reduce heat to medium. Heat remaining oil in dish. Add brown onion and bacon. Cook, stirring, for 6 minutes or until onion has softened. Add garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
Return beef and juices to pan. Add wine. Bring to the boil. Add stock and tomato paste. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add pickling onions and mushrooms. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes or until meat and onions are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Cook beef, in batches, for 4 to 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a heatproof bowl.
Heat remaining oil in pan. Add bacon and onion. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until onion has softened. Add carrot, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until vegetables start to brown. Add flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in wine. Bring to the boil. Cook for 1 minute or until liquid has reduced slightly. Add stock, bay leaf and oregano. Return beef and juices to pan. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add mushrooms and rosemary. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until beef is tender. Remove and discard bay leaf and rosemary. Serve with mashed potato.

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Combine stock cubes and water in a jug. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Cook one-third of the beef for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Repeat, in 2 more batches, with oil and remaining beef.
Heat the remaining oil in the dish. Add the bacon, brown onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until golden. Add the flour and tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually add the wine, stirring constantly, until well combined.
Add the beef, stock, thyme and bay leaves to the bacon mixture. Cover and bake for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the spring onion and mushrooms, stirring, for 5 minutes or until golden.
Add mushroom mixture to the dish. Bake, covered, for a further 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with mash.

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based, flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Cook beef, in batches, for 5 to 6 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl.
Heat remaining oil in dish. Add eschalots, garlic, bacon, mushrooms and carrot. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until eschalots start to soften. Return beef to dish. Add flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Stir in wine and stock. Add bouquet garni. Cover dish. Bring to the boil. Transfer to oven. Bake for 2 hours or until beef is tender. Remove and discard bouquet garni. Serve with mashed potato.

You could cook the casserole at 160C/140C for 3 hours. You could use beef chuck, skirt, topside or blade instead of gravy beef.

Place the flour in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the beef and gently toss until evenly coated. Shake off excess flour.
Heat half the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Add half the beef and cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Transfer the beef to a heatproof bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef, reheating the pan between batches.
Add the eschalots, carrot and mushrooms to the dish and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the beef, wine, stock, tomato, bay leaves and thyme to the dish. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours or until the beef is tender. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, to make the dumplings, sift the flour into a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the dairy spread into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the parmesan and parsley and stir until well combined. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk. Use a round-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until evenly incorporated. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball.
Arrange the dumplings over the beef. Cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through. Spoon the beef and dumplings among serving plates and serve immediately.