Week three of COVID-19 began with a stay at home Easter meal for two which leftovers lasted for two days.

I spent hours and days reading various recipes about the French classic Beef Bourguignon. My father introduced me to this dish when I was a child and regretted not staying by his side taking mental notes on how to cook this dish.

Anyways, back to the history and origin of Beef Bourguignon. This French class dish originated from Bourgogne a regional section in Burgundy, France. Beef Bourguignon is a rich slow cooked dish made with beef braised in red wine with carrots, mushrooms, garlic, onions, parsley, bay leaf and thyme.

Beef Bourguignon was originally considered a meal for peasants during the Middle Ages. It was economically friendly, filling and perfect to feed a crowd. The meat used was the once that were not consumed by high class groups e.g. royalty. The dish initially took two days to cook as the longer the cook, the more flavorful the dish will be and the meat will be more tender.

The first recipe was published in the beginning of the 20th century. Chef Auguste Escoffier labelled as the “grandfather of classical French cuisine”. This chef presented this provincial peasant dish to a high society group. As a result this dish became a overnight success where it is now served in fine dining restaurants in Paris, London and New York. Beef Bourguignon was labelled a national dish in France and in 1961, Julia Child introduced this dish which made her famous to America.

There were some subtle differences between Chef Auguste Escoffier’s 1903 recipe and Julia Child’s 1961 recipe. First, Chef Escoffier used whole beef and it would take two days to make the dish while Chef Child’s recipe used diced or cubed beef. Chef Child also used bacon fat and dried each piece of of meat prior to searing in the pan.

Well, guess what, I combined the two recipes without mushrooms and committed the cardinal sin by cutting a rib roast into think half in slices instead of cubes.

Well to start I used healthy ingredients such as beef, garlic, onions, carrots, tomato paste, red wine and homemade beef broth using the bones of the rib roast and onions. The broth tooks 18-24 hours to make.

Working with the ingredients that available, I made a very modified version with no mushrooms.