Beef beer bourguignon

SERVES 4

Chimay is one of only seven Trappist breweries in the world, where the beer is made in a Trappist monastery by Trappist monks. The Trappist monks from Chimay in Belgium have been making their beers since 1862 and have focused on three main beers – Chimay White or Cinq Cents (8 per cent), Chimay Red (7 per cent) and Chimay Blue (9 per cent). I love them all as they are big, malty, musty, yeasty beers with lots of character and alcohol. There is nothing better than sipping on a Chimay at the end of an evening, either with some cheese and dried muscatels, or just on its own. Chimay Blue is one of my all-time favourite beers and will work brilliantly in this dish, as does the Red; the White, however, tends to be a little bitter when you cook with it, so I normally don’t.

Any of the Trappist beers would work here, so give them a go and see what difference each beer makes. The other Trappist breweries are Orval, Westmalle, Rochefort, Westvleteren, Koningshoeven and Achel.

90 ml (3 fl oz) olive oil, approximately

1 leek, white part only, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, diced

100 g (3½ oz) piece of hot pancetta, diced

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) stewing beef, cut into 4 cm (1½ inch)chunks

1 bunch (20 g/¾ oz) fresh lemon thyme

9 baby onions, peeled

7 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons Madeira

1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour

3 carrots, sliced on the diagonal 1 cm (½ inch) thick

two 330 ml (11¼ fl oz) bottles of a Trappist ale, such as Chimay Red or Chimay Blue

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) good-quality beef stock

3 orange peel strips, white pith removed

3 dried bay leaves

125 g (4½ oz/½ cup) tinned crushed tomatoes

8 Swiss brown mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered

300 g (10½ oz) green beans, topped, tailed and cut into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

Heat half the olive oil in a deep flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add the celery and pancetta and cook for another 5 minutes, then remove the mixture from the dish.

Add another 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the dish and brown half the beef over high heat until well coloured. Shake the bunch of thyme over the beef while it browns so that a good pinch of leaves falls on top. When the beef is browned, remove it from the dish using tongs and place on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Brown the rest of the beef, again adding some thyme, then remove to the plate with the other beef.

Return the dish to medium–high heat, add a little more oil if needed, then add the onions and garlic. Stir them around the dish and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are coloured and their fragrance fills the air. Add the Madeira and scrape the base of the dish with a wooden spoon to deglaze and loosen all the stuck-on bits. Tip the beef back in and scatter the flour over. Give it all a good mix, then add the carrots and the leek, celery and pancetta mixture and stir the ingredients through.

Still over medium–high heat, add the beer and stock and stir until the mixture comes to the boil. Add the orange zest, bay leaves, tomatoes, a good pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Stir again, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 40 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook, with the lid off, for 20 minutes. Add the beans and cook for a final 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir the parsley through.

Serve with creamy mashed potato or some boiled baby potatoes.