About a month or two ago I bought a new cooking book which I’m sure must of you have seen it, read about it or maybe even owned it, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. The book is very well known for the movie Julie & Julia made in 2009 with actresses Meryl Streep who plays Julia Child and Amy Adams who plays Julie Powell. In the movie Julie is obsessed with Julia Child and she decides she’s going to make all 524 recipes from the book in one year. The book is fantastic although it doesn’t not have actual pictures of how the dishes will look, it does teaches techniques and provides a lot of information about the type or ingredients to use and best ways to use them.
Well, I don’t plan to make 524 of Julia Child’s recipes in one year, but I did realized a few days ago that this past year I have made close to 1,000 meals. I do cook breakfast every single day, most days I make something very quick and easy for lunch and I definitely make bigger meals for dinner. I always have desserts, homemade granola, breads and even ice cream. No all the recipes I make at home are all mine, especially when it comes to bread as I’m still learning; but the majority of recipes I make are just something I come up with literally as I’m getting the ingredients out of the pantry and fridge.
As I was browsing Mastering the Art of French Cooking yesterday morning during breakfast I realized I had beef stew mean in the refrigerator I needed to cook. I looked up Boeuf Bourguignon or beef stew in red wine. The recipe sounded delicious but I honestly didn’t have all the ingredients in the book and I didn’t have 4 plus hours to make dinner. I decided to use the Boeuf Bourguignon recipe as my base for the stew and add my twist, plus I wanted to make it quickly since I was not planning to start dinner until at least 6 pm.
Here is my version of Julias Boeuf Bourguignon made in the InstantPot with a couple of changes in the ingredients. The original recipe calls for bacon, I had leftover pork belly so that’s what I used. I skipped the onions and added sweet potatoes and a few potatoes. I also passed on sautéing the mushrooms in butter but instead I used a little of the pork belly fat to do so.
What you’ll need:
InstantPot
Measuring cup & spoons
Knife and cutting board
Medium mixing bowl
Ladle and rubber spatula
Beef Stew
Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Medium6
servings15
minutes50
minutesIngredients
6 oz chunk of bacon (I used pork belly)
2 lb lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sweet potato cut into 3-inch cubes
7-8 small potatoes (whole and skin on)
1 lb quartered fresh mushrooms
1 16oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups beef or vegetable broth
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup of full-bodied young red wine such as Chianti
1/2 tsp thyme
1-2 bay leaves
Directions
- Set the InstantPot in sear and let the temperature rise to Hot
- Begin cutting the bacon into 1 1/2 inches pieces, when the InstantPot temperature reaches Hot begin sauté the bacon for about 2 minutes, remove the bacon and place it in a plate covered by a paper towel to absorb the excess fat
- Dry the stew meat with a paper towel, it will not brown if the meat is damp, in the bacon fat begin browning the stew meat, sauté a few pieces at a time until nicely browned in all sides. Removed the browned meat and place with bacon and drain the any fat left in the InstantPot
- Add the meat, bacon and the rest of the ingredients in the InstantPot, close the lid and set InstantPot on Manual High Pressure for 30 minutes, ensure the pressure valve is close
- After the 30 minutes are up carefully manually release pressure
Notes
- Serve the Bouf Bourguignon with a side of white rice or buttered noodles.
- This dish can be prepared completely ahead and even a day in advance as it only gains flavor when reheated
- According to Julia Child this dish is absolutely delicious with a glass of young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone Boudeaux-St. Emilion, or Burgundy
Enjoy!
XO, Carol