This recipe is from the Levana Cooks newsletter. Levana is the author of the great cookbook, Levana Cooks Dairy-Free!
BEEF BOURGUIGNON
3 pounds beef shoulder, cut into two inch cubes for stew.
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups dry red wine (not cooking wine!)
1/4 cup crème de cassis (liquor stores)
2 large tomatoes, diced small
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
6 bay leaves
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only (or throw in the whole sprigs, and discard them at the end of cooking)
2 pounds very thin long carrots, scrubbed
2 dozen very small potatoes, scrubbed
2 dozen very small onions, left whole
On a stovetop: Place the beef, oil and eight cups of water in a heavy wide bottom pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook covered 2 hours. Add all remaining ingredients to the pot, in the order they were given, and cook one more hour. The meat should be fork-tender. Transfer the meat and all the vegetables on a platter with a slotted spoon. If the liquid left in the pot is too thin, reduce it on a high flame until it is thickened, the consistency of maple syrup (this will take just a minute or 2, so don’t leave the pot unattended). Pour the reduced liquid over the whole dish, and serve hot.
With a crockpot: layer all the ingredients in a 6 quart crockpot, in the order they were given. Set the crockpot on low in the morning. It will be ready for dinner (10 to 12 hours total cooking time)
