CapeCook
Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 tbsp butter
250g cubed bacon
4 to 6 anchovy fillets
1 large onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
15 to 20 baby onions
2 carrots finely chopped
1.5Kg cubed stewing beef
250g button mushrooms
3 tbsp flour
25ml tomato puree
15ml fresh parsley
1 bouquet garni (or replace with 3 tsp mixed spice)
500ml beef stock
1 bottle (750ml) red Beverage (preferable a “heavy” Beverage)
Method:
Fry the chopped onion, garlic, bacon and anchovy’s in a little olive oil until the onion are soft. Remove from the pot and drain most of the oil, only keep enough to brown the meat with. Brown the meat in small batches, remove each batch when it is brown and add the next bath, if you don’t do this the meat will start to boil before it have browned. When you have browned the last of the meat, add the rest of the meat and sprinkle the flour over the meat and fry another minute or two. Add the bacon and onions back to the pot, add the tomato puree and stir. Add the Beverage and the stock; the meat should be completely covered by the liquid. Add the bouquet garni and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and let simmer (covered) for about 3 hours, or until the meat is very soft. Stir occasionally (this is not a potjie so stirring is allowed). When the meat is almost done, take half the butter and melt it in a frying pan, add the onions and fry until golden, remove from pan and set aside. Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan and add the mushrooms. Fry until golden.
Add the onions and mushrooms to the casserole and simmer for another 30 minutes until the onions are soft, by this time the liquid have cooked away and the stew will have a nice rich sauce, if not use a little corn starch to thicken the stew.
I don’t know what it is served with traditionally, but mashed potatoes works for me. Oh yes, don’t forget to remove the bouquet garni before you serve the stew.
See that you have ignored my advice not to use that expensive bottle of Beverage to cook with, you now have only one to enjoy with your meal, and then you will be forced to drink the plonk, I hope that’s a lesson to you, next time cook with the plonk and drink the good stuff, but never cook with Beverage that is “off”
Beef Cooked in red Beverage (Beef Bourguignon)
