Healthy Boeuf A La Bourguignon
By: Christine
Published: Friday, May 7, 2010 - 6:00pm

Ingredients




1 pound Lean Strew Beef
1 Yellow Onion (chopped)
1 Carrots (cubed)
1 Potato (peeled and cubed)
1 cup Red Wine (Syrah or Grenache)
1 cup Beef Stock
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 bulb of garlic (minced)
3 springs Fresh Thyme
3 Bay Leaf
8 smalls White Pearl Onion
150 cups g or 1  of White Button Mushroom (quartered)
1 tablespoon Sherry Vinegar
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
Salt and Black Pepper

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 350-376˚F 2 Trim off all beef fat and cut meat into 1 inch cubes. Dry the beef with paper towel. 3 Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 On high heat, coat the bottom of the pan or casserole with vegetable oil and sauté the beef until it looks cooked on the outside (brown). 5 Remove the beef from heat and set aside 6 N the same pan or casserole on medium heat, put the rest of the vegetable oil and sauté the onion, carrots, garlic, and pearl onions for about 5 minutes or when the onion browns slightly. 7 Add in the beef and stir 8 Add in the tomato paste and stir 9 Add in the wine and beef stock until the meat is just covered 10 Add in thyme and bay leaf 11 Lower the heat to simmer and cover the pot. 12 Once the mixture simmers, transfer the pot into the oven for 2-3 hours. 13 In a separate pan, heat oil to medium-high heat. 14 Saute mushroom for 30 seconds, then add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute 15 Turn off the heat, drizzle on sherry vinegar, stir. 16 When the stew is ready, remove from the oven and add in the mushroom. 17 Remove fat off the surface of the stew and then simmer for another minute skimming off any additional fat that rise. 18 Remove the bay leaves and thyme twigs. 19 Season to taste and garnish dish with chopped parsley.

About


This beef stew differs from the traditional one in that it's much lower in calories and hypoallergenic. I replaced the bacon with grapeseed oil, and flour and butter are omitted. I used less meat (very lean stewing meat), more vegetables. The prep and cooking time took 4 hours. In the end, having an egg free, dairy free, gluten free, and low calories yet delicious comfort food was all worth it.
Taking away the traditional ingredients can make the the stew feel a little "thin" and lose that nice bacon aroma. I uses tomato paste as a thickening agent and added small cubs of potato to replace flour. For flavor, I added extra fresh herbs and use a Chilean Syrah or Spanish Grenacha (both of pretty cheap), instead of the traditional French Grenache. This is perfect stew to serve over pasta. I added mushroom sautéed in grapeseed oil which helped thicken the stew and added delightful surprises for the taste buds.
You can serve this dish with boiled potatoes, rice, or buttered noodles. I use corn pasta or brown rice to cut calories. I also like to make a huge pot of this stew and enjoy it over the next two days. The stew is perfect with a bottle of Burgundy or Pinot Noir.