9. mushroom bourguignon
A hot stew for a cold November day
In case you missed last week’s Kitchen Diaries post, check it out here.
It’s the beginning of November and the weather has swiftly moved from autumn to winter temperatures. Frost has begun to set in the late hours of the night and nearly all the trees have shed their orange toned leaves. It has rained all week and there are really only two foods that suit themselves to this sort of weather - pie and a hot stew. Pies are perfect because it’s a layering of golden crust (or potato) with meat and vegetables married with luscious juices. And a hot stew is wonderful because it’s something that’s simmers on the stove for an hour or more, with flavours combining and melding together to form a dish that is so delicious that guests can do nothing but ask for seconds.
To start the cold season, I made a Mushroom Bourguignon.
Typically it’s a French beef stew braised in red wine and beef stock, flavoured with carrots, onions, garlic, leek and more. The dish has become a standard of French cuisine, notably in Parisian restaurant and bistros.
However, I’m not a beef eater and I think you can still achieve incredible flavours without it. These is perfect to serve alongside buttery mashed potatoes or even crips sourdough slices, lightly toasted.
Mushroom Bourguignon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as needed
1 kg mixed mushrooms, such as portobello, white button, shiitake or oyster, cut into 1-inch chunks
225 grams peeled pearl onions, cut in half
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large leek or 2 small leeks, white and light green parts.
2 carrots, thinly sliced
3 garlic gloves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 1/2 cups beef, mushroom or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
3 large fresh thyme branches or 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
Parsley, to serve
Method
Add 2 tablespoons butter or oil to a large Dutch oven or pot and set it over medium heat. When the fat is hot, stir in half the mushrooms and half the pearl onions. (If it doesn’t all fit in the pot in one layer, you might have to do this in three batches, rather than two.) Without moving them around too much, cook the mushrooms until they are brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Stir and let them brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. Use a slotted spoon to transfer mushrooms and onions to a large bowl or plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with another 2 tablespoons butter and the remaining mushrooms and pearl onions, seasoning them as you go.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add another bit butter or oil to pan. Add leeks and carrot and sauté until the leeks turn lightly golden and start to soften, 5 minutes.
Add the 3 minced garlic cloves and sauté for 1 minute longer. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add wine, broth, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, thyme and bay leaf, scraping up the brown bits at bottom of pot.
Add reserved cooked mushrooms and pearl onions back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Partly cover the pot and simmer on low heat until carrots and onions are tender and sauce is thick, 30 to 40 minutes. Taste and add more salt and soy sauce if needed.
Serve Mushroom Bourguignon with mashed potatoes, or grilled sourdough. Sprinkle some fresh parsley over top.
Let’s chat in the comments below - what’s your favourite cold weather food?