French Style Boeuf Bourguignon Cottage Shepherds Pie Recipes

FRENCH STYLE BOEUF BOURGUIGNON COTTAGE-SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F or Gas mark 6.
• Lightly grease a large ovenproof dish with some of the butter.
• Put your Boeuf Bourguignon, Beef or Lamb stew leftovers into the greased ovenproof dish. If the pieces of meat are a bit to chunky, break them down a bit - likewise, cut the shallots into half if necessary.
• Boil your potatoes in salted water for about 25 minutes or until very tender.
• Drain the potatoes, add the Dijon mustard, creme fraiche/sour cream, butter & season well with salt & black pepper.
• Mash thoroughly with a potato masher or a hand held blender, mash until there are no discernable lumps & the mash is well mixed.
• Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top of the meat, smoothing it all the time with the back of a spoon.
• Rough up the potato with a fork to give an attractive appearance and place the sliced tomatoes on top.
• Add the grated cheese if using.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 to 35 minutes - or until the pie is well heated through & the top is golden brown and bubbling!
• Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with fresh greens, savoy cabbage, red cabbage or carrots.

BOEUF EN DAUBE - CLASSIC FRENCH BEEF BURGUNDY STEW (BOURGUIGNON)

Steps:

• In a large non-reactive bowl, combine beef, Cognac, cloves, garlic, onions, carrots, celery, bay leaf, sage, thyme, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, orange peel, wine, and mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days, stirring from time to time.
• Bring the meat and vegetables to room temperature. Drain, reserving the marinade.
• Blot the beef and veggies dry with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 325F/175°C.
• In a large heavy oven proof dish (such as a cast iron dutch oven or Le Creuset), fry the bacon over medium heat until it renders its fat, about 3-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to paper towels and reserve.
• Working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, add the meat and vegetables to the fat in the pan, and brown them on all sides over medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper as they brown, about 7 minutes per batch.
• Transfer to a platter. Add the marinade to the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by one-third, about 8 minutes. Skim off the foam from the surface. Add the stock or consomme, and simmer another 8 minutes, until reduced again by one-third. Stir in the pinch of sugar and the tomato paste, (and add the diced tomatoes and green olives now, if using).
• Return the meat, vegetables and reserved bacon to the pot. Cover and bake in the oven until the meat is tender, 2 1/2-3 hours. -OR- alternately, at this stage you can cook in the crock-pot on LOW heat 8 to 10 hours, or on HIGH heat 4 to 6 hours.
• Serve with a rustic bread for mopping the juices, along with a green salad and a platter of cheeses.
• Freezes and reheats beautifully. Leftovers will make a lovely Cottage-Shepherd's Pie a la Provencale, see my recipe #355446.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON COTTAGE PIE

Steps:

• (Up to a month ahead) heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the bacon lardons over a high heat for several mins until well coloured. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and set aside. Season the beef, then fry in the fat left in the pan. Once coloured, add all the remaining ingredients for the beef, except the cornfl our and bacon, and bring to a simmer. Partly cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook for a further 2-2½ hrs or until the beef is tender.
• Once cooked, tip everything into a colander set over another pan so you can catch the sauce. Tip the contents of the colander into a large pie dish, about 28cm x 23cm x 5cm. Re-boil the sauce and check for seasoning. Thicken with the loosened cornfl our, adding a little at a time and stirring until you have the desired coating consistency. Spoon enough sauce over the beef to barely cover and loosen it, then stir. Remaining sauce can be frozen, ready to re-heat and offer separately on the day.
• While the beef is cooling, make the mash. Boil the potatoes until tender, 15-20 mins, depending on size. Drain off the water and replace the lid. Shake the pan to break up the boiled potatoes. Add butter and milk a little at a time while mashing. Season.
• Spoon and spread the mashed potatoes on top of the cooled beef. Once covered, the mash can be marked with a spoon, palette knife or fork for a more interesting fi nish (see Gary's tip, left). When cold, the cottage pie is ready to cover and freeze.
• The day before serving, transfer the pie to the fridge to defrost overnight. (Or reheat from frozen on the day, see below.)
• On the day, reheat the pie. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. If thawed, bake for 50 mins-1 hr, or until heated through, then increase heat to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 for the fi nal 10 mins for a golden brown topping. If cooking from frozen, cover with foil, then bake for 1¼ hrs; remove foil and bake uncovered for 1¼ hrs more, then increase heat as above for the last 10 mins.

FRENCH CANADIAN SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.
• Boil the potatoes in a pot until they are soft, about 12-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet and brown the onions for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the beef mince to the onions and season well with the salt and the pepper. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the mince has a nice brown color.
• When the potatoes are cooked, drain them, add the butter, the milk and mash them. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
• In a baking dish, put the beef and onions in the bottom first, then top it wih the cream corn and finally, with the mashed potatoes.
• Sprinkle the parsley flakes and the paprika on the top and put it in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Broil for an additionnal 5 minutes or until the mashed potatoes have a nice golden crust.
• Serve with a lot of ketchup, as that is the way people eat it in Canada.

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Cook and stir beef in the same skillet until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle flour, marjoram, thyme, and pepper over beef. Pour red wine and beef broth into the skillet; stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer until beef is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Stir onions into the skillet. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and sauce is thick and dark brown, about 30 minutes.