Celeriac and beef carbonnade

This celeriac and beef carbonnade from Arras in the north of France is a slow-cooked delight that takes some time, but is actually very easy to cook. A hearty warmer as the nights start to draw in...

Slow 'n steady

This celeriac and beef carbonnade from Northern France is definitely not a quick dish. But, while it takes about four hours to cook, the method itself is very simple. So, it's the perfect dish to cook when you want to be getting on with other things because once you've got it on the go in the oven, it largely takes care of itself.

I came across this dish in Arras, in the region of France where the Flemish influence is notable, from the architecture to the food. However, do not confuse this carbonnade with the better known Belgian carbonnade flamande or stoofvlees (which I have still, embarrassingly, not published on here). Though it shares similarities, including a number of the same ingredients, the Belgian carbonnade has a more complex cooking method than this very easy number.

Way back in the day, I chanced upon a vibrant little taverne in on of the side streets near the Place des Héros, one of the famous Baroque town squares of Arras. I was in the mood for a glass of wine, but decided to stay for dinner, mainly because of the lovely aromas that wafted through the place every time the waiter opened the kitchen door to bring out someone's meal. It was one of those places that didn't have a food menu as such, only four or five dishes scrawled on a chalkboard.

After I had eaten it and moved to the bar to free up my table for a couple who had arrived hoping for dinner, the woman behind the bar asked me if I had enjoyed my meal. I told her it was utterly delicious and that my only regret was that the chef was busy in the kitchen and that I couldn't ask him for the recipe. She chuckled and told me that she had actually cooked it, and that because it cooks slowly for a long time, she always started it early so that it would be ready for the early evening crowd, and then get out of her husband's way for him to cook everything else on the menu.

Her name was Arlette and she turned out to be another of those generous people only too happy to share recipes. She explained that is was a traditional dish from the region, but it usually isn't cooked with red peppers. That, added Arlette, was her own twist that she came up after she met her future husband while studying in Pau. He came from the French Basque region and always complained that the food of the North was dull because it doesn't use peppers loved by Basque cooks. So, Arlette gave him what he wanted. And, she added, it was all the better for it. I concur

This recipe is for three to four diners, but it can be scaled up. However, when doing so only increase the beer and stock by 25% for each two additional diners.

3 top tips to get this recipe right:

• I am using beef shin for this dish, the cut of beef favoured by French and Belgian chefs for carbonnade. But you can use other cuts of lean beef if you prefer, just ensure that it is cut into pieces that are slightly larger than bite-size

• When cooking the mirepoix at the start of the cooking process, cut the carrots, celery and onions into pieces that are slightly larger than you would when creating a classic mirepoix. This really adds an extra dimension to the final result rather than it disappearing within the sauce

• In Arlette's recipe, the parsley, bay leaves and thyme are used as a bouquet garni; tied tigthly in a bundle with string so it is easy to remove and discard at the end of the cooking process once all their flavours have been absorbed. You can do that, but I prefer to add them, roughly chopped, and eat them. A little extra fibre and chlorophyl

Shopping list

for celeriac and beef carbonnade

• 500g beef shin; cut into fairly large pieces

• 3 sticks of celery, roughly sliced

• 2 extra large carrots (or equivalent); peeled and roughly cubed

• 2 large onions, roughly diced

• ½ a celeriac; peeled and cut into large cubes

• 1 red bell pepper; diced

• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 5 or 6 tbspns of olive oil

• 500ml beef stock

• 330ml dark beer (standard for one bottle of Trappist beer, but no one will miss 30ml...)

• A generous clutch of fresh parsley

• 2 or 3 fresh bay leaves

• A clutch of fresh thyme

• salt and pepper to taste

for the side dishes

• Bread or potatoes?

  • A freshly baked warm baguette or other bread of choice; toasted

  • Alternatively, it is often served with sautéed potatoes

• Garden salad - any you like, but I'm serving it with a garden salad of

  • Lamb's lettuce

  • Flat-leaf parsley

  • Tomatoes

  • Vinaigrette dressing flavoured with dried herbs and crushed mild chilli flakes

Cooking method

for celeriac and beef carbonnade

1. Cook your mirepoix first. Add 4tbspns of the olive oil to a deep frying pan with a lid. Heat briefly on a very low heat. Then add the carrots, onions and celery to the pan, stirring to ensure they are all coated. Cover and cook very slowly on a low heat, stirring occasionally, and adding the garlic after the first 10mins or so. It should take about 30mins before they are all soft and tender. Place to one side

2. Add the remaining olive oil to the same pan, increasing to a medium-high heat. Add the beef and bell peppers once the oil is hot. Stir frequently ensuring that the beef is fully sealed and that the peppers have begun to soften slightly, seasoning with a little salt and pepper

3. Decant to a deep oven-proof dish with a lid. Add your mirepoix and gently mix the ingredients together. Pour in the beer and about two thirds of the stock. Add all of the green herbs and bay leaves and loosely fold in. Cover and place in an oven pre-heated to 170°C. Allow to cook, undisturbed for at least 40mins

4. Remove from the oven and stir, gently but thoroughly. Add a little more of the stock. Recover and return to the oven. Reduce the heat to 150°C and cook for another 60mins without disturbing

5. Remove from the oven and add the celeriac and fold in. By now, the liquid should have begun to reduce. If it has already reduced to the point that there is not enough liquid to ensure the celeriac is largely covered, add more of the stock. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Re-cover and return to the oven for another 60mins

6. By now, the meat should be very tender, even starting to flake, and the celeriac soft but not yet disintegrating. If the gravy has not reduced to be suitably thick, do not add thickening agents such as flour or cornflour. Rather, return it to the oven uncovered, removing and stirring occasionally to keep all the ingredients moist until the gravy thickens.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to rest, covered, for at least 5mins before plating and taking to table with your preferred side dishes

Alternatives

The beef and stock are the only elements in this dish that aren't vegan, so it is relative easy to adapt for vegans and vegetarians. My favoured versions are those that use medium-sized whole chestnut mushrooms treated very much as the beef in this recipe or to use Quorn pieces added at the same time as the celeriac. Bizarrely, even though they seem more dense in texture, Quorn pieces are more likely to disintegrate if you cook them too long. And, obviously, replace the beef stock with vegetable stock.

I have never tried a pescatarian version, mainly because the long, slow cooking thing really isn't suited to fish and seafood on the whole.

However, for carnivores, if you don't like beef, this works well with lamb or dark poultry such as duck or wood pigeon; just cut the latter in half and put them in that way. However, if cooking it with poultry, I find that giving the mirepoix, beer, stock and herbs a head start i.e. cooking them without the bird added for the first 40mins works a lot better if you don't want them to flake completely. Use chicken stock if cooking a fowl version; beef stock if cooking lamb (mutton stock is too fatty for this dish). Also cook the entire poultry dish on 170°C throughout, but reduce your overall cooking time by about 40mins.

Pairings

This is one of those dishes I perceive as pure comfort food, so I've never really thought much about it, pairing it with pretty workday wines. Usually I opt for Merlot, Sangiovese or lighter Grenache numbers; Côtes du Rhône etc. That said, when the cold nights draw in, it's great with swapping out the salad for some steamed Savoy cabbage and going for a heavy red, most obviously of the Tempranillo sort.

But, given the ingredients, it is also great with beer, not the light summer type, but one of those heavier, occasionally nutty Belgian (Trappist) beers. Two beers I remember enjoying with this are Brugse Zot Dubbel, and Duchesse de Bourgogne, a red beer almost as tart as the original duchess herself.