Here is the pot-au-feu recipe, one of my favorite winter recipes! Pot-au-feu (literally “pot on the fire” in English) is a French beef stew, a typical French dish served in winter. It’s “the quintessence of French family cuisine; it is the most celebrated dish in France and considered a national dish”, says chef Raymond Blanc. This classic French comfort dish is stewed meats with vegetables, but the difference is the dish can be served in different ways. First, you can remove the marrow from the bone and spread it on a fresh baguette. Then, the broth can be served as soup, and the meat can be served with vegetables.
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My favorite pot-au-feu recipe is the one by Séphanie Le Quellec —the French 2-star chef who won season 2 of Top Chef in 2011. She is one of the rare female chefs to have received 2 stars from the Michelin guide. This recipe below is from her book “Cuisine” where she shares all of her gourmet family recipes, easy to make with simple food. This recipe below can take an afternoon to prepare, but is very easy to cook and will make your house smell wonderful!
The Chef Stéphanie Le Quellec’s Pot-Au-Feu Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g beef shoulder "paleron" in French
- 1 beef cheek
- 500 g brisket "plat de côtes" in French
- 4 marrow bones "os à moelle" in French
- 4 carrots
- 2 leeks
- ¼ celery
- 2 large potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 head of garlic
- 3 cloves
- 2 bouillon cubes
- 10 peppercorns
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Rinse the meats under running water, then place them (except for the marrow bones) in a round Le Creuset Dutch oven. Add cold water one and a half times the height. Bring to a boil, the impurities will rise to the surface, then lower the heat and skim (remove all the impurities).
- Peel and wash all the vegetables (except the potatoes), add them whole. Also add the onion studded with cloves, the head of garlic cut in half, the bouillon cubes, the pinch of salt, and the peppercorns.
- Cook over low heat for 3 hours 30 minutes, skimming every 30 minutes. After 3 hours of cooking, add the peeled and halved potatoes and the marrow bones.
- Serve this pot-au-feu with a crispy baguette, old-fashioned mustard, fleur de sel and pepper.
Notes
