My Pot Au Feu

 Recently someone on a Facebook group I am part of posted that she cannot cook, does not like to cook, wants to learn to cook, and did anyone have an easy recipe.  That got me thinking, and I posted back to her, learn how to chop, then make a casserole recipe where you bung (technical term, see below) everything into a pot and put it in the oven.  Technically, this is not a family recipe, it my adaptation of a French classic and I doubt any of my ancestors ever made it.

This set me thinking about what casserole I would suggest, and pot au feu would be my choice.  Below I have put my basic recipe, but it can be as fancy as you like.  You could use a mixture of short ribs, brisket, gravy beef and marrow bones instead of the chuck steak I use.   You can also cook it slowly on top of the stove and skim off any impurities over a period of 2-1/2 hours! (no thanks).   

If you want a thicker, richer dish then dust the beef with flour and the onions and some garlic and fry in olive oil  as a first step.   Red wine casserole is made that way, and instead of adding water add a mixture of beef stock and red wine.  So it is a very versatile recipe.  

The vegetables can be substituted, some people put cabbage in, it has to go in about 20 minutes later than other veg.  Similar with things like asparagus.  I would avoid pumpkin as it can go too watery.

You can cook the whole thing on top of the stove, but you have to make sure you have it on the lowest possible heat and check it is not running out of water or burning.

You MUST check for salt and pepper, nothing is worse than an under seasoned meal.

You do need at least 3-1/2 hours to cook it however, but here is the trick.  You can make it the day before and then re-heat it.

About the word bung : verb, technical term on a spectrum of meaning.  If people are around and you are feeling serene it means place delicately into a pot; but if your husband just bought you salt for Christmas (true!) it means throw with venom as noisily as possible into a pot.  Mostly it is somewhere in between.

Pot Au Feu

Easy

Ingredients

2 Kilo chuck steak (or gravy beef is another name for it) - Cut into large chunks  (or if you want to be fancy see option above).

4 bay leaves

3 litres of water or a mixture of both beef stock and water (1/2 each)

thyme and chervil tied together in a bunch.  (or just thyme if you don't have chervil) or bouquet garni from the shop

2 large onions, cut into 1/4's

5  thin carrots, cut in half lengthways (or 3 large ones, cut into 1/4)

2 large potatoes cut into 4 pieces lengthways each

3 leeks - cut the green bit off and cut in 1/2 lengthways

3 turnips or parsnips peeled and cut into 1/4's

3 stalks of celery, cut into 4 inch pieces.

1 celeriac, cut into 8 pieces.

Salt and pepper  (if you are unsure start with 2 teasp salt 1/2 teasp pepper)

For serving: parsley, cornichons, mustards, bread, butter. (or none of them)

Method

Oven on at 180C.

Place steak, bay, thyme and chervil and 3 litres of water (or a mixture of beef stock and water) into a strong casserole dish that can go on top of the stove.  Bring to a boil. Lid on,  Place into oven for 2 hours.

Take out of the oven, remove herbs.  If there is "scum" impurities on top of the stock, take it off with a large spoon and throw away.

Add vegetables (all of them) season with salt and pepper.

Cook for another hour, test the vegetables, they should be cooked but not falling apart, meat should be very tender.  If it is not, put it back into the oven for another 1/2 hour or so.

Check the seasoning - does it need more salt and pepper?

Once it is cooked there are two ways to serve it.

1. Bung it into large shallow bowls, sprinkle with chopped parsley if you have some, and serve with bread that has been sliced prettily, butter, mustards and cornichons.

2. Remove the meat and veg into a large serving dish, keep warm.  Strain stock and serve as a  1st course soup.   Then serve meat and vegetables with cornichons, mustards, sea salt and bread as the 2nd course.

Bon Appetite.