Melissa Clark’s Mushroom Bourguignon

A Meat Lover’s Dream recipe…Mushroom Bourguignon from Melissa Clark

As New Year’s resolutions go, the one about eating less meat in 2020 has a lot of traction. And for good reason. Not only is it good for you, but it’s also good for the planet.  As the sign said in Lisbon last summer “There is no Planet B”. Melissa Clark of The New York Times seems to have taken the vow very seriously.  She devoted an entire Wednesday Food feature to “The Meat Lover’s Guide to Eating Less Meat”. Here’s the link:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/dining/flexitarian-eating-less-meat.html.  She extolled the virtues of chickpeas and tofu, of quinoa and vegan sausages and she even made use of the wildly controversial plant-based “meats” to make meatless meatballs. She did, however, caveat her ingredient choice by stating “There’s no denying how processed most vegan meats are, loaded with unidentifiable ingredients,” before conceding “they do scratch the itch for burgers and meatballs”.

A grand assortment of Mushrooms take the place of Meat in this twist on a French Classic

The Melissa Clark meatless recipe that resonated with me was one she called “Mushroom Bourguignon”.  The traditional elements–onions and carrots–are there. The meat is replaced by Mushrooms.  Mushrooms are great for meat-eaters because they have the bulk and the bite of meat and they’re great carriers of other flavors—red wine and…don’t kill me…beef stock.  For purity’s sake, Mushroom or Vegetable stock can be used too. In this recipe, you have your pick of whatever mushrooms are available to you— portobello, cremini, white button, shiitake, or oyster—but make sure it’s a mix. You will top the stew with thinly sliced crisp brown Chanterelles or Oysters.  The choice of wine is important to the flavor of the dish. Ideally, it should be Burgundy red: Pinot Noir or Gamay are the top recommendations.  You can find decent bottles for $10.00 to $14.00.  This is not really an occasion to skimp on the wine: it’s the foundation for the dish’s flavor. As to cooking time, I cooked my version a lot longer than Melissa called for.  It only added to the flavor and I highly recommend you do the same.

Beef Bourguignon took what was Peasant Fare and landed it in Fine Dining Restaurants all over the world.

Beef Bourguignon has a long history in its native France and is right up there with Ratatouille and Coq au Vin in the pantheon of French food served the world over.  The dish hails from Burgundy, one of the most beautiful parts of La Belle France.  It began as a peasant dish in the Middle Ages when slow cooking was popular as a safe and thorough way to cook tougher cuts of meat.  Cheap and filling, it could feed a lot of people.  Traditionally, it was cooked over a two-day period which tenderized the meat and increased the flavor.  There was no written recipe for Bourguignon until the “King of Chefs”, Auguste Escoffier, wrote one in 1903. Escoffier’s seal of approval meant this “peasant food” found its way to the most expensive of restaurants in Paris and London.  In 1961, Julia Child revolutionized the dish by using cubed beef instead of the single piece of meat Escoffier’s original recipe used.  Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” (Alfred A. Knopf).  Julia described it as “certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man” and it became one of her most popular recipes.

If a recipe with roots in France can be called “Hygge”, this is it.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I put Melissa’s Mushroom Bourguignon recipe to work.  It did its requisite job of making the house whatever the French equivalent of what hygge is, that wonderful Scandinavian feeling of comfort and coziness.  A wonderful smell wafted up from the pot. And when we sat down to dinner, on a bed of the creamiest, most buttery mashed potatoes this lovely dish was so satisfying the last thing we missed was meat. Here’s the recipe along with some other mushroom dishes that are well worth considering to keep your New Year’s resolution alive and well.

Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms from Giada de Laurentiis

Ottolenghi’s Mixed Mushrooms with Cinnamon and Lemon