Beef Bourguignon en Cocotte with Silky Pommes Purée

⏱ 240 min · Serves 6

The great Burgundian classic, slow-braised in a lidded cocotte until the beef surrenders at the touch of a spoon, its sauce glossy with red wine and bacon. Alongside: a scandalously buttery pommes purée, whipped smooth enough to pass for velvet. A weekend project that eats like a Michelin lunch in Beaune.

Per serving: 1010 kcal · 58.0g protein · 48.0g carbs · 62.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg beef chuck or shin, cut into 5cm chunks
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 150 g smoked lardons or thick-cut bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, cut into thick coins
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 bottle (750 ml) full-bodied red Burgundy or Pinot Noir
• 400 ml beef stock
• 1 bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, 4 thyme sprigs, parsley stalks, tied)
• 250 g button mushrooms, halved
• 250 g small shallots or pearl onions, peeled
• 30 g butter
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to finish
• 1.2 kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper or Agria), peeled and cut into even chunks
• 200 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 150 ml whole milk
• 100 ml double cream
• Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

Method

1. Pat the beef very dry, season generously and toss with the flour. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron cocotte and brown the beef hard in batches, 3–4 minutes a side, until deeply crusted. Set aside.
2. Lower the heat, add the lardons and render until golden. Add onion, carrots and garlic and cook 8 minutes until softening. Stir in the tomato purée and cook 1 minute.
3. Pour in the wine, scraping up every sticky bit from the base, and boil hard for 5 minutes. Return the beef with any resting juices, add the stock and bouquet garni, and bring to a bare simmer.
4. Lid on, transfer to an oven at 150°C fan / 170°C conventional and braise for 2½–3 hours, until the beef yields to a spoon. Check once an hour; top up with a splash of stock if it looks dry.
5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan, add the shallots with the sugar and a pinch of salt and a splash of water. Cover and cook 10 minutes, then uncover and glaze until burnished. Add the mushrooms and fry over high heat until golden. Set aside.
6. Lift out the beef with a slotted spoon. Discard the bouquet garni. Reduce the sauce on the hob until it coats a spoon glossily, 10–15 minutes, skimming any fat. Return the beef, shallots and mushrooms; keep warm.
7. For the purée, cover the potatoes in cold salted water, bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes until completely tender. Drain and dry in the hot pan for 1 minute.
8. Pass the potatoes through a ricer or fine sieve into a warm pan. Over low heat, beat in the cold butter a few cubes at a time until absorbed and shining. Warm the milk and cream together and beat in gradually until glossy and just-pourable. Season with salt and a whisper of nutmeg.
9. Spoon the purée into warm bowls, make a well, and ladle over the bourguignon. Scatter with parsley and serve with the rest of the bottle.