Guillaume's pot au feu

Pot au feu or ‘pot in the fire’ pertains to the cooking method involved in making this dish. The type of meat and vegetables used may vary. Guillaume uses seasonal baby vegetables to serve his pot au feu but you can use what’s fresh and available.

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  4:35 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 litre veal stock
• 1.5 kg beef short ribs
• 500 g beef chuck, cut into large chunks
• 500 g veal bolar (blade roast), cut into large chunks
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp black pepper, freshly ground
• bouquet garni of bay leaf, parsley, thyme (tied with string)
• 1 onion, peeled and studded with cloves
• 1 leek, white part only, thickly sliced
• 1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 4 small potatoes, peeled, cut into large chunks
• 4 baby turnips, peeled and quartered
• 1 bunch pencil leeks, cleaned
• 1 bunch baby carrots
• 6 2-inch beef marrow bones

Sauce Ravigote

• 20 ml Chardonnay vinegar
• 50 g Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp cornichons, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp capers, drained, finely chopped
• ½ bunch parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
• 1 eschallot, finely chopped
• 50 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 cornichons, to serve

Instructions

1. Half-fill a pot with veal stock. Add the short rib and chuck, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer, skimming the surface of any foam and impurities. Top up with water to submerge all the meat.
2. Add the bouquet garni, onions, leek and celery and cook gently, covered for 3-4 hours, skimming the surface whenever necessary. You can use a cartouche to ensure meat is always submerged in the liquid while cooking.
3. Make the sauce ravigote. Mix all ingredients together except for oil. Whisk the oil into the mustard mix, if the sauce is too thick, adjust with more vinegar until desired consistency. Set aside.
4. Strain half the broth into another pot then add the baby potato, baby carrot, baby turnips and baby leeks, simmer for another 35 minutes until vegetables are tender.
5. Meanwhile, keep the meat and the remaining broth together in the other pot and add the bone marrow. Keep simmering on low covered, for 30 minutes. To keep the bone marrow whole, wrap each bone marrow tightly in aluminum foil individually before adding to the pot.
6. Scoop the meat and baby vegetables from the broth into a dish. Take the bone marrows out of the foil and add to the dish. Season with salt and ground pepper.
7. Serve with sauce ravigote and cornichons.

 

Enjoy a taste of France at home with Guillaume Brahimi on Plat du Tour, each night during each live stage of the Tour de France exclusive broadcast on SBS. For broadcast times, go to sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.