Beef Bourguignon - what you need an how to do it

Ingredients

2 tbsp Olive oil
200g streaky bacon, cut into 1cm cubes
18 baby onions, or shallots
1.5kg stewing beef steak, cut into 4cm cubes
40g Flour
400ml Red wine
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Bay leaves
1 sprig Thyme
2 sprigs Parsley
small piece orange zest
450ml beef stock, or chicken stock
18 button mushrooms, tossed in a hot pan with 25g butter until golden

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a flame-proof casserole dish or large pan.
   
3. Add the bacon and cook until browned. Remove and set aside, leaving any fat in the pan.
   
4. Add the onions and cook, stirring, over a high heat until golden. Remove from the pan and set   aside with the bacon.
   
5. Add the beef in batches to the hot pan and cook until browned. Season with pepper.
   
6. Put all the beef back into the pan and sprinkle in the flour, stirring the meat all the time.
   
7. Pour in the wine and garlic. Stir again and add the bay, thyme, parsley and orange zest (I sometimes tie these up with string so that I can pull them out easily later).
   
8. Add the bacon and onions again and enough stock to come about three-quarters of the way up the ingredients in the pot.
   
9. Bring to the boil, put the lid on and cook in the oven for 2 hours 30 minutes, until almost tender.
   
10. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook the stew for another 30-40 minutes or until the beef is tender.
    
11. To serve; remove the orange zest and herbs. Season with salt and pepper and serve. 

Cook's Notes: If making this a day or two in advance, I would add the mushrooms and finish cooking it on the day it is to be eaten, for the best results. 

Special notes from Chef Tom to meat children

"I like to drink the same wine with the meal as I cook with so erm makes sense to get one thats good :-) "-Chef Tom