Bordeaux beef bourguignon

Servings: for 4 persons 

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes 

Marinade 48 hours 

Marinade: 

• 4 carrots 
• 3 cloves
• garlic
•  2 onions 
• 2 stalks of celery 
• 1 stalk of
• flat-leaf parsley 
• 1.5 litre red wine (Bordeaux)
•  thyme
• 10 crushed peppercorns 
• 2 cloves
• 3 tbsp. oil soup

Stew: 

• 1.5 kg beef chuck 
• 150 g bacon bits 
• 2 onions 
• 1 bouquet garni
• 250 g button mushrooms
• 20g butter
• 12 pitted Agen prunes 
• 1 glass of Armagnac
• 1 C. tablespoon lard or duck fat
• 1 C. tablespoon flour salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop the vegetables for the marinade. Fry them in oil over low heat. Moisten with wine. Add the herbs and let simmer for 30 minutes. Leave to cool in a terrine, 
2. Cut the chuck into cubes and put them in the marinade. Leave to cool for 48 hours
3. The same day, let the prunes swell in the Armagnac. Drain the meat. Peel the onions. In a casserole dish, melt the lard, brown the meat, then the bacon bits and onions.  
4. Then sprinkle with flour and mix without browning. Strain the marinade and pour it over the meat. Salt and pepper and add the bouquet garni. 
5. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes over low heat. Remove the earthy stem from the mushrooms and steam the caps in the butter. Add prunes and mushrooms to the pan and continue cooking for 30 minutes.