So, how do you say it? Boar-Gin-yon? Bor-geen-yoan? I sincerely apologise to the whole of France for my bastardisation of their beautiful language, really. However you say it, this is certainly a recipe you want to add to your repertoire… absolutely perfect for Sunday’s when you can’t be arsed to cook a roast, and if there are any leftovers they can be reheated (microwaved at work to the envy of others is quite an enjoyable experience).
I came across this recipe from the Hairy Bikers, ‘Go Veggie’ diet cookbook, and have tweaked it very slightly to not be so diet – I REALLY like butter and all of the bad things that make food taste so good. Nevertheless, you can swap out lots of ingredients to make this either a vegan or meat dish (which I will highlight below)… the only essential is the yummy bourguignon sauce (and coupling your meal with a nice glass of red… not sure if you guys have noticed this theme in my recipes yet).
Album to cook to: ‘Keep It Unreal’, Mr Scruff
Recipe feeds 2-4 (look, I’m greedy, and always have seconds)
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
750g mushrooms, mix and match the mushroom type and slice, quarter and dice for different textures (or stewing beef if you would like this to be a meat dish, 500g would do it)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stick of celery, diced
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tsp rosemary (or a few sprigs if you have fresh)
1 tsp thyme (again, sprig it up if you have it fresh)
2 bay leaves
50g butter (or Vitalite to make this vegan)
1 tbsp flour
200ml red wine (+ the rest of the bottle for the dinner table, obvs)
2tsp olive oil
400ml beef stock (vegetable or mushroom if you would like this to be vegan)
1 tbsp tomato puree
Salt
Pepper
Recipe
I would like to start by apologising for all the chopping you are going to do in the prep. Proper long. This is the most work you will need to do for this meal though, promise.
Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole on a medium heat and throw in your mushrooms. The aim here is to brown them rather than cook them right through, so after 5-8 minutes they will start to release their water, and this is the sign to take them out of the pan. Transfer them to a plate, along with any juices that have released into the pan, and attempt to not sneak them into your mouth… mushrooms are just the best, right. If you are using beef, brown in the pan and remove to a plate, exactly the same as the shrooms.
In the same pan, heat your butter on a medium heat and add in the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, herbs, bay leaves and some salt and pepper, and cook gently for 10 minutes until they have softened. This is also the base for a wicked spag bol… recipe will be coming soon for this (it’s a good one if I say so myself).
Add in the tablespoon of flour and mix in with the veg, cooking for 2 minutes. It is important to cook the flour so you don’t get that floury taste in your sauce. Then add in the red wine, mixing it in to the floury veg – this is also the right point to pour yourself a glass too. Allow the wine to cook into the veg, mixing it all in, and then add the stock and puree, giving it a good stir.
Scoop in the mushrooms, avoiding nibbling where possible, and all of the juices, combining them in the lovely gravy. Turn the heat down low and allow to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for half an hour (this is where the wine comes in handy, perfect for waiting for a meal to cook eh). The sauce will reduce slightly and turn a really lovely deep brown, and it will be quite tempting to just pull up a chair in front of the pan and get straight to it.
This is absolutely banging with some buttery mash and whatever green veg you have lying around in your fridge, although it can be spooned over some pasta or with some rice too. And of course, finish off the wine.
Always Hangry Em 