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Prep time
5 minutes
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Cook time
2 hours 10 minutes
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Serves
1
Author Notes
My take on boeuf bourguignon skips a couple ingredients—namely the bacon, whose fat traditionally adds luscious flavor to the classic French stew, and the flour, which would otherwise serve as a thickener for the sauce. I find that boneless beef short ribs, which are marbled with fat and collagen, do all the heavy lifting in this recipe and help you arrive at a final stew that’s just as glossy, satisfying, and full of deep, savory flavor as the original. My final flourish is a clean, crunchy panko gremolata with parsley, lemon zest, and raw garlic (trust me!) that helps to liven up the slow-cooked dish and will make you wonder why you haven’t been sprinkling this stuff over your food the whole time.
This single-serving recipe is for my column, Table for One. Should you have more mouths to feed, then just multiply the amounts you see here. —Eric Kim
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Ingredients
- For the stew:
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1/2 pound
boneless beef short ribs, cut into 1-inch cubes
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1 pinch
each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
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2 tablespoons
olive oil, divided
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1
large shallot, thinly sliced
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4
garlic cloves, crushed
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1 tablespoon
tomato paste
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1/2 teaspoon
crushed red pepper flakes
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1 teaspoon
herbes de Provence
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1
dried or fresh bay leaf
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1 cup
red wine (I used a Côtes de Bordeaux)
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1 cup
water
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2 teaspoons
Worcestershire sauce
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4 ounces
cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
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2
small carrots, thickly cut on the bias (about 4 ounces)
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Mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice, for serving
- For the gremolata:
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2 tablespoons
panko bread crumbs
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1/2
garlic clove, grated
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1/2
lemon, zested
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1/4 cup
chopped fresh parsley
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1 teaspoon
olive oil
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1 pinch
each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously season the short ribs with salt and pepper and heat a small (1 1/2 to 3–quart) oven-safe saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sear the short ribs, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned on all over. Remove meat to a plate, leaving rendered fat in the pan.
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Add the shallot, garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, herbes de Provence, and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper; and sauté for 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce a little, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the water and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a simmer, and nestle the meat back into the pot. Cover with lid and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until ribs are fully cooked and tender.
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Meanwhile, make the gremolata: In a large dry skillet over medium-high heat, fry the bread crumbs until toasted just slightly browned. Add to a bowl, followed by the garlic, lemon zest, parsley, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined. Set aside for later.
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In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon olive oil and cook the mushrooms and carrots without touching them too much, so they fry and almost caramelize at their edges, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add to the pot with the beef, stir, cover, and return to the oven for 30 more minutes. Check for final seasoning: salt and pepper.
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Serve the finished stew with the prepared mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice, and sprinkle over the gremolata for crunch.
Eric Kim was the Table for One columnist at Food52. He is currently working on his first cookbook, KOREAN AMERICAN, to be published by Clarkson Potter in 2022. His favorite writers are William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway, but his hero is Nigella Lawson. You can find his bylines at The New York Times, where he works now as a writer. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @ericjoonho.
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