Boeuf Bourguignon #FoodieReads

This dish had unexpected inspiration: the first in a series about a Harvard linguistics professor traipsing around the globe. If you liked Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, you'll like The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw.

On the Page

Professor Thomas Lourds is the protagonist in this series by Charles Brokaw. In The Atlantis Code he called in to decipher an inscription on an artifact in an unknown language. That leads him and his merry band of friends, including a television reporter/journalist, her cameraman, and a Russian police officer who joins in to avenge her sister's murder over another artifact. Well, they aren't actually 'merry' as Lourds is embroiled in a jealousy-fueled sex triangle between Leslie and Natashya.

The group travels the globe - from West Africa to Russia and London to Spain. And several chapter of the book take place in Vatican City because there is a conspiracy within the Catholic Church to suppress the existence of these artifacts and their meaning.

Okay, in thinking about the sentences I want to write here, it requires a hefty suspension of disbelief not the least of which is that he can decipher (and learn) an entirely undocumented language while running for his life from Italian mobsters who work for a faction of the church. Yeah, it sounds ridiculous. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely pick up the other three books in the series.

On the Plate

There is quite a bit of food on the pages.

"The server had cleared away their plates after an array of dishes that included molokhiyya soup with rabbit, torly casserole made with lamb, grilled pigeon breasts stuffed with seasoned rice, melon slices and grapes, followed by raisin cake soaked in milk and served hot, and cups of chocolate-flavored Turkish coffee" (pg. 25).

"Dinner followed in short order. A zesty, crisp salad followed by the beef soup, then escargots baked in their shells. Gary balked at the snails and wouldn’t eat them. Lourds thought the parsley butter was the best he’d ever had and sent word back to the chef. The fondue had pieces of beef that rounded out the flavor and made it even more tasty. The gougere were cheese balls rolled in chou pastry. But the crowning achievement was the pochouse, fish stewed in red wine. Dessert was a strawberry and mascarpone cream tart that melted in the mouth" (pg. 164).

"Thieboudienne was the traditional Senegalese dish, consisting of marinated fish prepared with tomato paste and an assortment of vegetables. Yassa was chicken or fish simmered in onion with garlic, lemon sauce, and mustard added to enhance the taste. Sombi was a sweet milk rice soup. Fonde was millet balls rolled in sour cream" (pg. 270).

I will definitely be looking up recipes for molokhiyya soup, pochouse, and sombi. But what inspired me into the kitchen was this passage..

"I thought perhaps a French cuisine might be in order," the chef said. "We will begin with a nice salad, Boeuf Bourguignon, a nice beef stewed in red wine, Escargots de Bourgogne, with parsley butter, Fondue bourguignonne, gougere, and Pochouse, which is one of my specialties."

I have recently made a Mushroom Bourguignon, but it's been years since I made a somewhat traditional Boeuf Bourguignon. Here we go...

Stew

• 6 ounces bacon, diced

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

• 3 pounds beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

• 3 to 4 carrots, scrubbed and diced

• 1 onion, peeled and diced

• freshly ground salt

• freshly ground pepper

• 3 cups red wine (a full bodied red wine)

• 3 cups beef stock

• 1 tomato diced or 1/2 cup tomato sauce

• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and mashes

• 1 sprig herbs, fresh (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) - traditional is thyme, I had oregano

• 2 bay leaves

• Also needed: Dutch oven

Mushrooms

• 1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 Tablespoon olive and add in the ground bacon. Cook until the bacon is cooked through. Add in the beef chunks and brown on all sides.

Then add in onions, carrots, garlic, and tomatoes.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Nestle the herbs and bay leaves into the pot. Pour in the stock and the wine. Bring the liquid to a simmer.

Cover the pot and place in the oven. Let braise for three to four hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. During the last hour of cooking, prepare the mushrooms and set aside till needed.

For the mushrooms, melt the butter in the oil in a large skillet. As soon as the foam subsides, add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for about five minutes.

As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, remove the Dutch oven and bring it to the stove top. Bring the liquid to a boil to reduce the sauce to your desired thickness.

To Serve

Fold the mushrooms into the stew and ladle into individual serving bowls. Garnish with herbs and serve immediately.

I am adding this to the July #FoodieReads link-up.