In 2015 I travelled to Belgium to visit a friend. The visit was a flash visit and after researching the cuisine I really regret not having had more time to explore what they had to offer. While in Belgium I ate a lot of fries (some with a meat and gravy sauce), and pastries and drank a lot of beer. I was glad to find something more substancial on the menu for this week - carbonade flamande, a beef and beer stew thickened with bread! It was delicious and I paired it with Belarusian potato draniki.
Serves 5
Ingredients
1kg of diced beef
2 onions cut into a medium dice.
700ml of Belgian brown beer.
1 1/2 slices of bread
2 tbsp mustard
thyme and bay leaves
butter
flour
pepper and sea salt
Method
In a frying pan over medium heat add the butter and the onions. Fry for 2 minutes until the onions start to get some colour. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Turn the heat up, and in the same frying pan begin browning the beef in batches - make sure the beef is brown on all side and start to caramelise. Add the flour to the last batch so the meat is coated. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Deglaze the pan with the beer and add the thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Let it cook down for a minute or two then add to the slow cooker.
Tip: if you're using a dutch oven instead of a slow cooker then just do all the steps as above in the dutch oven without removing the ingredients.
Cover 1 side of the bread with the mustard and place it mustard side down on the stew.
Cook on high heat for 2 -3 hours and then give it a stir so the bread disintegrates. Cook for 30 more minutes and serve with your choice of side.
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