Pot-au-feu
SERVES 6-8 A comforting, classic French stew, pot-au-feu is a dish recognised throughout France and can vary depending on the region. This savoury one-pot meal is a two-day process, but worth the effort, when it fills the kitchen with a wonderful fragrance. Pictured p127.
900 gm beef shin, tied at
intervals with kitchen string 800 gm piece beef chuck
1 small (about 1kg) oxtail, cut into pieces and tied into a flat bundle
3.8 litres veal stock (see note) 4 leeks, white and light green
parts only
2 onions, cut into wedges 1 bouquet garni (see note) 2 large carrots
8 beef marrow bones
3 thyme sprigs
FINISHING VEGETABLES
10 white pearl onions, scored at the base, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes and peeled
10 small white radishes, peeled, some stems attached, halved lengthways 10 breakfast radishes, some stems attached, halved lengthways
10 small carrots, peeled, some stems attached, halved lengthways
10 small turnips, peeled, some stems attached, halved lengthways
10 small Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, halved lengthways
Handful of chervil leaves
Rinse and thoroughly dry the beef shin, chuck and oxtail. With a sharp knife, score the chuck in a crosshatch pattern on both sides. Season the beef shin, chuck and oxtail with salt and pepper, then arrange on an oven tray or in a large dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Place shin, chuck and oxtail in a 7.5- to 9.5-litre casserole. Add stock and enough cold water to cover the meat. Bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.
Meanwhile, halve each leek lengthways. Thoroughly wash the leeks, then tie the halves together with kitchen string.
Once the stock is simmering, add the leeks, onions and bouquet garni, and gently simmer, adjusting the heat as needed, until the meat is tender, (about 3 hours). Remove meat from stock, allow to cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
Strain the stock through a muslin-lined chinois into a large container. Discard vegetables and bouquet garni. Place the container inside a bowl of iced water and let stock cool, stirring occasionally, until it reaches room temperature. Cover and refrigerate stock overnight, so the fat will congeal on the top and be easier to remove.
Skim the fat from the top of the stock (discard). Return stock to the casserole over medium heat. Once stock is warm, add the beef shin, chuck, and oxtail.
Cut the carrots lengthways into thin strips that roughly equal the diameter of the marrow bones, the place carrot strips over the open ends of marrow bones and tie them in place with kitchen string to secure the marrow inside.
Add the marrow bones and thyme to the casserole, season to taste, and gently simmer, adjusting the heat and skimming any off foam as needed, until the meat is very tender (about 2 hours).
Meanwhile, for the finishing vegetables, blanch onions in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender (7 minutes; see cook’s notes p168), drain and refresh in iced water, then drain well. Fill the pot with fresh salted water and bring to the boil, then, in separate batches, blanch the white radishes, breakfast radishes, carrots, turnips and Brussels sprouts
(2-3 minutes each), refresh, then drain well.
Add the blanched vegetables to the pot-au-feu and simmer to meld the flavours (10-15 minutes). Season to taste.
Remove the beef shin and chuck from the casserole and cut them into individual servings. Cut the string from the marrow bones, discarding the carrot slices.
Divide the beef shin, chuck, oxtail and marrow bones among warm bowls, ladle the vegetables and stock over the meat, top with chervil and serve.
Note Bouquet garni is parsley, thyme and a bay leaf, tied up in a piece of muslin with some black peppercorns. Taylor and Franchini prefer to make their own brown veal stock, which will result in a pure finish for this dish. They use blanched and roasted veal bones, coarsely chopped leek, onions, carrots, a few sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf, bouquet garni and a calf ’s foot for added gelatine, all simmered until well flavoured.