Boeuf Bourguignonne

I must thank my good friend Stephanie for this wonderful recipe for the classic French winter dish - It's warming, satisfying and delicious. Every supermarket has packs of beef specially for Bourguignonne or just go and ask the butcher who will provide hearty chunks of beef. Otherwise choose a good quality stewing steak. I normally trim the beef a little as I really don't like fatty meat, but beware of buying a very lean cut as it dries out and becomes tough. A little marbling of fat is necessary for the cooking process. Also, do keep the meat in the huge chunks - about 3 per portion. Plan to make this the day before you intend to use it as the two cookings are essential!

1. 1. Trim any really thick visible fat from the meat. coat in seasoned plain flour then put to one side.
2. 2. Using a casserole dish which has a tightly fitting lid, heat then add the lardons, which will cook without any additional oil. cook until browned. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Wipe out the casserole.
3. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C
4. 3. Add a little olive oil to the casserole dish and brown the beef in batches. Keep the heat fairly high and add oil as required. Don't cook too much beef in the pan at once as it will boil instead of brown.
5. 4. When all the beef is browned return to pan. Add the lardons, whole mushrooms, whole shallots, garlic, herbs and red wine and 1/2 stock cube. The stock should cover the meat. If not, add a little extra water. Cover and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Cool and adjust seasoning.
6. Next Day
   Cook, uncovered, at 180 degrees C for about 1 hour. Play this by sight: The sauce needs to be thick and rich, the meat falling apart. If it does look as if it's drying, then add a little extra water and cover. Check seasoning and serve.
7.