Boeuf à la Bourguignonne (made in a Pressure Cooker)

Ingredients for the marinade:

2 ½ cups full-bodied, dry red wine, preferably a Pinot Noir from Burgundy

1 cup beef broth

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped

2 stalks celery coarsely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon dried thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

2 pounds boneless beef chuck, trimmed of fat and cut into 1 1/2 -inch cubes 

Directions for the marinade:

1.       Add of the ingredients (except the meat) into a large glass bowl and mix thoroughly.

2.       Add meat and mix well.

3.       Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at last four hours, or preferably overnight.

4.       After marinating, strain the meat in a colander reserving 2 ½ cups of the liquid. 

5.       Toss out the solid materials.

6.       Pat the pieces of meat dry with a paper towel.

Ingredients for the stew:

4 strips bacon or equivalent amount of pancetta, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1 package of frozen pearl onions

8 ounces white button mushrooms, cleaned and cut into quarters

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon minced parsley

Directions for the Boeuf à la Bourguignonne:

1.       Sauté the bacon in a skillet over a medium heat.  When lightly browned, removed with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2.       Add 2 Tablespoons of oil to the remaining bacon fat in the skillet.

3.       Put flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag and shake to mix.

4.       Add a portion of the meat cubes into the bag and shake to coat with the flour.

5.       Put skillet on a medium flame. When hot, remove pieces of meat from the plastic bag and shake off any excess flour. 

6.       Add meat cubes to the skillet and brown evenly for about 4 minutes.

7.       When cooked removed with a slotted spoon into the Pressure Cooker.

8.       Repeat with the remaining cubes of beef adding olive oil as needed.

9.       Once all the beef cubes are cooked and in the Cooker, add the reserved liquid.

10.   Add in tomato paste and bacon and stir thoroughly.

11.   Follow the instructions for your Pressure Cooker.  (Mine calls for 20 minutes of cooking)

12.   While the stew is cooking, prepare the mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms in the unsalted butter until golden brown.  Set aside. 

13.   When stew is fully cooked, carefully remove the lid and add in the mushrooms (along with their cooking juice) and defrosted onions.

14.   Let stew sit for 5 minutes so onions and mushrooms can warm up.

15.   Serve topped with minced parsley along with potatoes, noodles or rice.

Serves:  6-8 portions

Recommended wine:  A Pinot Noir, Chianti or Zinfandel. A good rule of thumb is to serve the same wine you used for making the stew.