One of my favorite cookbooks of all time is Julia Child’s “The Art of French Cooking”. It is sticky and covered in sauces and oil and butter and flour. I used to use that and my favorite mexican cookbook so religiously that they looked like they had been dipped in the foods rather than utilized to make them. There is one recipe I knew by heart and is obviously a huge fan favorite for the carnivore and omnivores out there: Boeuf Bouguignon. It is a Braised beef dish similar to a beef stew in essence. I decided to attack this dish head on because my vegan world isn’t the same without it. I know the flavors and the essence I want to create so making it vegan is actually easier than one may think but remember, if you want it just like Julia’s you do need to put in the time to make it and of course the butter (the earth balance butter that is).

I would like to make note that I initially made this without tasting it. My mother an omnivore had to taste test because I had ruptured my esophagus a few nights before. She loved it and I caught her going back for “extra tastes” later on. I can say that the beef in the oven covered in flour and crisco and pureed onions made my house smell like heaven though. It was hard not to just throw doctors orders out the window and face the throat pain just for a little taste. But I didn’t. I tasted it last night though and it is divine. Please try out the recipe and I promise this will become a warm comforting favorite you can’t believe you lived without.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vegan Boeuf Bourguignon

(2) tablespoons Crisco

1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke

(1) Onion

(2) sticks Earth Balance Buttery Sticks

Kosher salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

(2) packages Gardein Beef

1/4 cup Flour

(1) Package Baby Carrots (diced)

(1) package of white button mushrooms

(3)  Medium Yukon Potatoes

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon frozen minced garlic

(3) Cups Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine

(3) Cups Water

(2) tablespoons Vegetable Bouillion

(1) Small 6oz can of Tomato Paste

2-3 bay leaves

2-3 tablespoons parsley (fresh preferred)

1/2 cup flour (to make paste)

Preparation:

• Rough Chop onions.
• Dice Carrots and mushrooms.
• Chop Potatoes into cubes.
• Place extra large sauce pan or dutch oven on medium low heat with crisco, liquid smoke, and at least 1-2tablespoons salt.
•   
• Preheat oven to 350degrees.
• Get out a small food processor or immersion blender and several spoons. You will want to check the salt/seasoning level throughout.

Begin Cooking:

• Once the crisco melts at onions and stir onion, oil, salt, smoke misture until onions are golden.
• 
• Take onions out leaving a small amount of oil in the pan.
• Puree onions in the food processor then return mixture into the pan.
•      
• Add (2) packages of Gardein Beef Tips. Cook until slightly soft and seared about 3-5 minutes.
•      
• Sprinkle on 1/4cup of flour and stir until meat is covered in the onion flour mixture.
• Place beef cubes on a cookie sheet and place in warm oven approximately 30 minutes.
• 
• Take 1 stick of butter place in pan and scrape the bottom bits up. Add Garlic.
•   
• Add carrots and cover in melted butter. Add mushrooms next. Add salt and pepper while tossing.
•      
• Add vegetable bouillion, water, thyme. Mix well until everything is combined. Start to simmer.
• After the sauce is simmering add tomato paste and wine.
•   
• After the sauce has cooked down about 30 minutes and the meat is crusty and firm on the outside, add the potatoes and meat back into the stew.
•   
• Stir in 2-3 bay leaves and parsley.

Finishing it Off:

• Last, after another 30 minutes. Remove 1-2 cups of the broth, a few carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes and place in a small sauce pan (my immersion blender has a little pot to puree in so I use that). Add 1/2cup of flour and make a paste with an immersion blender.
• Add last stick of butter to stew pot and then stir in paste with the immersion blender until creamy and combined.
• Cook for at least 30 more minutes. It will be nice and thick and the wine will have cooked down at this point. Your home will also smell like heaven.
• 
• Serve hot with some crusty bread on a blustery fall or winter weekend.
• It also keeps for about a week in the fridge or for months in the freezer! Enjoy!

Total servings 12. Serving Size is approximately 1 cup.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy