A pot-au-feu is a french beef stew, which uses mostly inexpensive cuts of beef that need to be cooked for quite a long time in a bouillon seasoned with root vegetables and a bouquet garni.

According to the french chef Raymond Blanc, pot-au-feu is “the quintessence of French family cuisine, it is the most celebrated dish in France. It honours the tables of the rich and poor alike.”

It is a perfect dish for a cold January day and even when the meat and vegetables are gone you can get another meal out of it by using the broth as a soup. In France this broth is usually served with special soup pasta called cheveux d’ange (or angel hair in english) added to it.

I make this using my pressure cooker as do most french people. So I am estimating that it will take 2 to 3 hours in a regular saucepan.  If using a pressure cooker, you’ll need to cook the dish at first for 30 minutes and then remove the carrots, leeks and turnips before continuing to cook the meat and seasoning for another 45 minutes.

Ingredients :

• 1.2kg stewing beef (I usually use cheek and tail)
• 2 marrow bones (optional!)
• 1 onion studded with 3 cloves
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 leeks
• 1 kilo carrots
• 3-4 small turnips
• I branch of celery
• Bouquet Garni
• Salt and Pepper
• Potatoes to serve

Method :

1. Peel and wash the leeks, carrots and slice in half
2. Peel and wash turnips and chop in large chunks
3. Fill a large saucepan with 2 litres of water and add the clove studded onion, the carrots, the leeks, the turnips, the garlic cloves, the celery branch and the bouquet garni.
4. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil, then add the meat
5. Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes, removing  the foam the comes to the surface (this is called “écumer” in french!)
6. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook for approximately 3 hours until the meat is really well cooked
7. Wash and peel potatoes and cook them separately in a saucepan of salted water
8. When your pot-au-feu is ready you can serve the broth as a starter or enjoy it the following day – its a meal in itself, really tasty and full of goodness 🙂
9. Serve with potatoes, gherkins and strong mustard
10. If you are having the marrow bones serve with toasted bread

Pot-au-Feu Ingredients (Image from Wikipedia)

Beef bourguignon (sometimes also called beef burgundy in english) is a well known traditional french recipe and comes from the Burgundy region of France as do many other famous french dishes such as snails and the delicious appetizer gougères which I recently posted the recipe for.

Ingredients :

• 1 kg of braising steak
• 6 carrots
• 1 onion pierced with 2 cloves
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 orange
• Bouquet Garni
• 100g bacon lardons
• 50g butter
• 75cl (1 bottle) of dry red wine preferable a burgundy wine
• 1 tablespoon of tomato concentrate
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• Salt & Pepper

Method :

1. The day before put the beef into a large bowl with the red wine, the juice and zest of the orange, the onion with cloves, the clove of garlic, the bouquet garni and the sugar, then cover and leave in the fridge overnight
2. The next day strain the marinade. In a large saucepan brown the meat in the butter
3. Add the flour and the tomato puree
4. Cook for 5 minutes over a gentle heat mixing all the time, then add the marinade and aromates (onion, garlic, bouquet garni)
5. Add the carrots, chopped into large chunks
6. Season and bring to a simmer. Give everything a good stir, then cover.
7. Cook over a low heat for 2 hours (until the meat is well cooked) The lower the heat and the slower the cooking, the better
8. Place the lardons in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil for 3 minutes to blanch them, drain once done
9. If the meat sauce is not thick enough, remove the meat and garniture from the pan and cook the sauce until it thickens
10. Put the meat and garniture back in the pan with the lardons, cook altogether for 5 minutes  over a low heat
11. Serve with mashed potatoes

Beef Bourguignon

A hachis parmentier is a french version of what is called shepherds pie in the english speaking world. Shepherds pie is traditionally made with lamb whereas as hachis parmentier is usually made with beef or duck. Hachis comes from the french verb hacher to chop or ‘mince’ and the word parmentier comes from Antoine-Auguste Parmentier the man who introduced potatoes to France.

Parmentier was trying unsuccessfully to introduce potatoes to France by planting them in Parisian gardens (then only only considered fit for animals) as he considered that they were the answer to the problems of hunger in the country at the time. He finally managed to get the then king Louis XVI on his side – the king agreed to send royal guards to protect the potato plantations knowing full well that this would only kindle the interest of the local population. And indeed the locals wondered about this ‘potato’ that was so precious the king had the plantations guarded. The guards were instructed to turn their backs while the  locals ‘stole’ the plants and in no time at all the potato had become a popular and widespread food item in France! A very clever advertising campaign 🙂

Traditionally there aren’t any vegetables in hachis parmentier but I add some to give a bit of colour and texture to the dish. Its a great way to use left over veg, potatoes and even meat from the previous days dinner.

Ingredients :

For the meat sauce : 

• 500g minced beef
• A large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2/3 carrots finely chopped
• Handful of peas
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 350ml beef stock
• Salt and Pepper

For the potato topping : 

• 1kg potatoes
• 250ml warm milk
• 50g butter
• Salt and Pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Method :

1. In a saucepan cook your finely chopped carrots and peas or any other vegetable you have – green beans, leek etc. (already cooked left over veg works well with this recipe)
2. In a large pan fry the onion & garlic in some olive oil and a knob of butter on medium heat for about 5 minutes
3. Stir in the minced beef and cook well on a relatively high heat setting
4. Add salt and pepper
5. Sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour and mix well
6. Pour in your beef stock stirring continuously
7. Mix in your pre-cooked chopped vegetables and set-aside
8. In the meantime, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 25 minutes or so until cooked
9. Strain and mash the potatoes
10. Season with salt and pepper (and nutmeg if using) and add the butter and milk (adding more if necessary to get the texture you like)
11. Butter a large dish and add a layer of meat. Top with the mashed potatoes.
12. Add a few pieces of butter on top and cook in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes before placing under the grill for 5 more minutes.
13. Serve warm with a green salad. Delicious!