I love a hearty, slow cooked beef bourguignon with lashings of creamy mashed potato. It’s the ultimate comfort food and while the prep takes a bit of effort, it essentially cooks itself. But I wanted to try and introduce the little dude to beef, beyond Bolognese and thought that a stew of sorts would be a good way to do it. So with a few alternations I ended up with a delish bourguignon for the grownups and a baby version too!
1 pack diced stewing beef
4 carrots, peeled and diced
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large parsnip, peeled and diced
1 small courgette peeled and diced
2 stalks celery finley chopped
1 pack brown mushrooms, quartered
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5-6 small shallots or pearl onions
Handful of fresh parsley, basil and thyme
200mls passata
2 tablespoons plain flour
For the grown ups -
500mls beef stock
300mls red wine
Half pack oxtail soup (dry mix)
Salt/pepper
For the baby -
400mls low salt/baby stock or water
2 tablespoons red lentils
1 small potato peeled and diced
3-4 dried apricots diced
100mls passata
Begin by putting the beef pieces into a freezer bag and pour in the flour. Close the bag and shake.
Fry off the beef in a pan with some sunflower oil, until browned.
Add in the veggies and garlic and heat through for a few mins. At this point take a portion out and set aside for the baby.
To finish the adult’s portion, pour in the wine, stock and passata. Stir in the oxtail soup. Add in the herbs, reserving a small amount for the baby's portion. Transfer to a casserole dish with a lid and cook at 150c fan for 2 - 2.5 hours. Stir occasionally and serve with mashed potato.
To finish the baby's portion, add in the stock or water, apricots, potato, passata and lentils. Sprinkle in the herbs and let it simmer on a very low heat for at least 30 mins. Stir occasionally and add in water if it gets dry.
Adults Version
Baby Version
Whiz with a hand blender or food processor to the desired consistency