Mushroom Bourguignon

Name: Mushroom Bourguignon
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 1 kg (2¼ lb) mixed mushrooms, chestnut and portobello, halved or quartered into large pieces; 5 tbsp olive oil, divided; 40 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, divided; 250 g (9 oz) pearl onions or small shallots, peeled; 2 carrots, in thick chunks; 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tbsp all-purpose flour; 375 ml (1½ cups) full-bodied red wine, half a bottle; 400 ml (1⅔ cups) Vegetable Stock, or good store-bought; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 4 sprigs thyme; 2 bay leaves; 8 g (1⅓ tsp) fine sea salt, divided, plus more to taste; black pepper; 15 g (½ cup) flat-leaf parsley, chopped

The classic red-wine braise, rich and glossy, with mushrooms in the starring role

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 35 min
Total: 1 h 20 min
Level: Some skill

This takes the method of Beef Bourguignon — a slow red-wine braise with pearl onions, carrots and thyme — and uses meaty, well-browned mushrooms instead. It is deeply savory and is ready in under an hour and a half.

Ingredients

1 kgmixed mushrooms (2¼ lb)chestnut and portobello, halved or quartered into large pieces
5 tbspolive oildivided
40 gunsalted butter (3 tbsp)divided
250 gpearl onions or small shallots (9 oz)peeled
2carrotsin thick chunks
3 clovesgarlicfinely chopped
2 tbsptomato paste
2 tbspall-purpose flour
375 mlfull-bodied red wine (1½ cups)half a bottle
400 mlVegetable Stock (1⅔ cups)or good store-bought
1 tbspsoy sauce
4 sprigsthyme
2bay leaves
8 gfine sea salt (1⅓ tsp)divided, plus more to taste
black pepper
15 gflat-leaf parsley (½ cup)chopped

Diet: Vegetarian
Allergens: gluten, milk, soy, sulphites, celery
Origin: France (inspired)
Season: Autumn, Winter

Method

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Add a third of the mushrooms in one layer and brown well, 5–6 minutes, turning once. Season lightly and tip out. Repeat with the rest, adding oil as needed. 18 min
Lower the heat to medium. Add 20 g butter, the pearl onions and carrots and cook until browned in spots, 6–8 minutes. 7 min
Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute, then stir in the flour and cook 1 minute more. 2 min
Pour in the wine, scraping up everything stuck to the bottom. Simmer until reduced by half, 5 minutes. 5 min
Add the stock, soy sauce, thyme, bay leaves, the rest of the salt and the mushrooms with their juices. Simmer gently, partly covered, until the carrots and onions are tender and the sauce is glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon, 30–35 minutes. 32 min
Remove the thyme stalks and bay. Stir in the remaining butter, season with pepper and more salt to taste, and scatter with parsley. Serve with Mashed Potatoes, polenta or egg noodles.

Why it works

Mushrooms brown properly only when there is space for their water to evaporate, which is why you brown them in batches. Reducing the wine first concentrates its fruit and drives off some of the alcohol, softening its raw edge (some alcohol always remains in a braise). Flour cooked in the fat thickens the sauce, and soy sauce stands in for the deep savory flavor beef normally provides.