Slow cooker Boeuf bourguignon
6-8 rashers smoked bacon
400 g lean diced beef
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp oil
1-2 carrots
1 clove garlic, pressed
350 ml red wine
350 ml beef stock
1/2 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp tomato purée
1 bay leaf
250 g closed cup mushrooms
15-30 shallots
Brown each of the ingredients individually before slow cooking in the braising liquid.
Start by frying finely chopped bacon rashers until crisp and brown, pop into the slow cooker pot.
Sprinkle the beef with 1 tablespoon of flour. Add oil to the pan and brown the meat in batches, transferring to slow cooker pot when browned.
Pour in the red wine to loosen all the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Add beef stock and thyme. Simmer for a few minutes and pour over beef in slow cooker pot.
Trim an cut carrots into 4-5 cm pieces. Parboil carrots for a few minutes before adding them to the slow cooker.
Add tomato purée and bay leave, stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Trim and halve or quarter the mushrooms. Brown mushrooms in a pan in a little oil and set aside until half an hour before serving.
To peel shallots easily, drop them whole in boiling water for 30 seconds. With a small knife, trim the end of each shallot and pull back the skin to remove. Brown the shallots in oil and set aside with the cooked mushrooms.
30 minutes before serving add mushrooms and shallots.
Serve with boiled potatoes.