HARVEST DINNER | BEEF BOURGUIGNON + A VISIT TO ELAWA FARM

Between this Beef Bourguignon—a classic French stew of beef braised in red wine—and last month’s Provençal Vegetable Tian, it’s clear I’m on a rustic French cooking jag. A few weeks ago, I gathered many of the Beef Bourguignon ingredients from Lake Forest’s Elawa Farm for a dinner highlighting the end of season harvest. An exceptional example of gentleman’s farm architecture, Elawa was built in 1917 by famed architects David Adler and Alfred Hopkins for the A. Watson Armour family. It is now a celebrated community cornerstone where classes in cooking and gardening take place year-round. I had so much fun filming a portion of the below video on the gorgeous grounds!

Elawa Farm, an extraordinary example of gentleman’s farm architecture.

Statuary in the garden on Elawa Farm.

Ingredients gathered from Elawa Farm for Beef Bourguignon.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

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Beef Bourguignon is a classic French stew of beef and vegetables slowly braised in red wine. Red Burgundy—the wine this dish is named for—is made using 100% pinot noir grapes from the Burgundy region in France. Choose your favorite pinot for making Beef Bourguignon—it doesn’t have to be French. But it's true what they say about only cooking with wine that is good enough to drink, and that’s especially true here because an entire bottle goes into the pot. The resulting sauce is deep, rich, and divine, so don't forget to pass crusty French bread around the table for soaking it up.

serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes ask your butcher to do this

• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 5-6 slices (about 8 ounces) extra-thick cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

• 1 large yellow onion, halved then thinly sliced

• 4 shallots, thinly sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and gently crushed

• 3 big sprigs thyme

• 1 big sprig rosemary

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds if carrots are extra thin, cut into longer pieces

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 750 ml bottle pinot noir

• 2-3 cups beef stock

• 2 tablespoons butter, divided

• 10 ounces (about 2 cups) small fresh pearl onions

• 1 pound white button or cremini mushrooms, trimmed of stems then thickly sliced

• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley plus more for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place beef chunks on a plate and pat dry. Season well on all sides with salt and pepper.

3. Place a large dutch oven (with a tight-fitting lid for later use) over medium heat and pour in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add bacon, sautéeing until lightly browned and crisp. Transfer bacon to a big plate with a slotted spoon or spider.

4. Add beef to pot, turn heat to medium-high, and brown on all sides (do this in batches if necessary—you don't want to crowd the pot or the meat will steam and not brown). Remove from pot and add to plate with bacon.

5. Reduce heat to medium and add another tablespoon of olive oil if the pot looks dry. Put onions, shallots, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves in pot, then season with salt and pepper, cooking until onions and shallots are softened. Stir in carrots and cook for two minutes more.

6. Add wine, tomato paste, bacon, meat, and meat juices to the pot. Pour in enough beef stock to just cover the beef. Stir well and bring to a simmer.

7. Cover pot tightly with foil, then add the lid. Place in oven for 1½ hours.

8. While stew is in oven during this first 1½ hours, prepare pearl onions and mushrooms:

   · Fill a medium bowl with ice water and bring a small pot of water to a low boil. Slice pointy tips from each pearl onion, pour into pot, and cook for two minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in ice bath until cool, then drain.

   · Squeeze onions from root end to slip from skins and pat dry.In a sauté pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive and 1 tablespoon butter. Add pearl onions and season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until brown—about 10 minutes. Place in a bowl and set aside.

   · Slide another tablespoon of butter into the sauté pan and melt over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until golden, then set aside (do not add to the pearl onions—they will go in separately).

9. Remove foil from pot and discard. If a great deal of liquid has evaporated, pour in enough beef stock to just cover the meat. Stir in cooked pearl onions, replace pot lid, and put back in oven. Cook for another 1½ to 2 hours, until meat is very tender when pierced with a fork.

10. If the sauce seems too thin, remove the beef and bring sauce to simmer. Reduce to desired thickness. Stir in mushrooms and parsley, then taste sauce for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper to taste. If you have taken the step to reduce the sauce, put beef back in pot and warm it through.

11. Skim any fat from the suface of the stew with a spoon. Discard thyme and rosemary sprigs and bay leaves. Ladle servings of stew over mashed potatoes and garnish with extra parsley.

Portrait photography and video in this post by Caroline Reynolds.