Easy Beef Bourguignon

Easy Beef Bourguignon recipe

Beef bourguignon has always been one of my favourite meals, but many traditional recipes use an entire bottle of red wine, as well as lots of oil, butter and bacon fat. My leaner version of the classic still has incredible, satisfying flavour, and I have also made it a meal-in-one by adding new potatoes, so there’s no need for any additional side dishes unless you want to serve with with some fresh green vegetables. When I cook this for friends or family, I usually serve with a lovely crusty loaf of French bread!

What to serve with Beef Bourguignon?

Vegetables:

• Steamed green beans – Tender, crisp and fresh, they complement the richness of the dish.
• Roasted Brussels sprouts – Slightly caramelised with a hint of bitterness to balance the flavours.
• Sautéed spinach or kale – A simple sautéed green adds freshness.
• Steamed broccoli – Light and nutritious as a side
• Roasted or steamed asparagus – Asparagus always adds a little taste of luxury to a plate, and again the fresh flavour goes perfectly with the beef dish.

Salads:

• Mixed salad with lemon vinaigrette – A light, tangy dressing cuts through the richness of the stew.
• Rocket salad with parmesan shavings – Peppery rocket and sharp Parmesan provide a bold contrast.
• Simple spinach salad with balsamic dressing – The sweetness of balsamic pairs beautifully with the deep flavours of the beef..
• Tomato and cucumber Salad – A refreshing, crunchy side that adds brightness and freshness to the meal.

These sides will complement the richness of the beef bourguignon without overpowering it!

How to I make this Easy Beef Bourguigon in the slow-cooker

This Easy Beef Bourguignon is perfectly suited to the slow-cooker. To make it in the slow cooker here are the steps:

1. In a large saucepan or casserole dish, use spray oil to stir-fry the celery, bacon and shallots for a few minutes, thenadd the beef and garlic and stir-fry for 5 minutes to sear the outside of the beef.
2. Add the beef mixture to the slow-cooker pot, and stir through the cornflour, to coat all of the ingredients.
3. Add the wine, hot beef stock, tomato puree, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper, soy sauce, carrots, mushrooms and potatoes to the slow-cooker pot, and stir everything together.
4. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 5-6 hours. When it is perfectly cooked, the beef should be fork tender (easy to pull apart with a fork) and the sauce should be thick and hearty. If you want to thicken the sauce further, you can leave it cooking on high with the lid off for a further 30 minutes.

How does Easy Beef Bourguignon work on Slimming World?

Most of the ingredients in this Easy Beef Bourguignon are syn free, and the syns in this versions will be considerably fewer than in most beef bourguignon recipes, but there are still some that you will need to account for if you are following Slimming World.

Cornflour: You won’t want to skip the cornflour, as this is what helps to give the gravy a lovely thick and rich consistency. Cornflour contains 1 syn per tablespoon.

Red wine:  Red wine contains 12.5 syns per 250ml (so 7.5 syns for the 150ml used in this recipe)

In total there are 9.5 syns in this recipe, so divided into 4 portions this meal contains 2.5 syns per portion.