A Star Dish
Marissa MacNaughton loves to cook for her family. Among their favorite dishes: beef bourguignon.
“My husband loves wine and food very much,” notes MacNaughton, a mother of three. “As a homemaker, I try to think of what makes our family happy and for us, it’s really ‘food’ and some quality time together. The kids ask me what’s for dinner every day when they come home from school, so they really look forward to dinnertime as well.
“We love having conversations about how our day went and just communicate by eating yummy dinner together and appreciate our time as a family.”
MacNaughton created this recipe a few years ago after a trip to Paris, where a chef made them beef bourguignon using star anise. When she returned home, she decided to try to make the dish herself.
“I never heard of using star anise in beef bourguignon,” she says.
Since then, it’s become not just a family favorite meal, but also one of her go-to dishes when entertaining guests.
“It’s so easy to make and when I entertain people, it looks fancy (garnished),” she explains, adding that she also likes how the dish reminds her of Paris. “It’s a perfect meal for all the wine lovers and it also makes kiddos happy because it’s just a great sauce with yummy beef (kids love that they don’t see any veggies, but it’s all in there). It is very much a comfy food!”
Beef with Red Wine Sauce
*Serves approximately 5 people
Ingredients:
A
• 1 pack boneless Prime beef chuck short ribs (from Costco)
• 1 bottle of red wine (Pinot Noir preferred)
• 1 whole yellow onion (chopped)
• 4 stalks celery (cut in cubes)
• 4 carrots (cut in cubes)
• 10 garlic cloves (peeled and smashed)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 star anise
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorn
B
• 1-2 cups flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
C
• 1 tablespoon salt (or add 1/2 tablespoon more if preferred)
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons bouillon (vegetable, chicken or beef ), MacNaughton recommends 2-3 packets of organic vegetable Kayanoya Dashi stock powder.
• 10 mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 bottle of red wine
D
• Italian parsley for garnish
• 1/2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Combine ingredients from A in a large bowl and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Heat oven to 370 degrees. Take out the bowl of A from the refrigerator. Remove only the beef and save the wine and veggies that were marinated on the side. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the beef and pat with flour (B). Pour olive oil in a cast iron pot and cook the beef. When the beef is slightly cooked, combine with the rest of A and combine together with C in a cast iron pot. Cook until boiling.
Remove cast iron pot from stove and place in oven for two-and-a-half hours
Occasionally check to make sure the meat is not sticking to the pot, stir if needed. Pour more chicken stock if the broth is running low.
Remove the stew from the oven and let it sit until the pot cools down. Separate the beef into a bowl. Transfer all of the vegetables from the pot into a strainer and strain the juices into a pan. This will be the sauce.
Let the sauce sit for a little bit and try to remove all of the fat out of the sauce. Combine the beef with the sauce and heat. Transfer the beef and sauce to a bowl/plate and garnish with D. Serve with rice.
Enjoy!