Saturday, July 3, 2010

Pot Of Fur!! YUMMY!

Here is the Wikipedia explaination for pot au feu. The kids mispronounced it when they were two and the name stuck. After all, it IS a pot of things that used to have fur. Traditionally made with just beef, we add mammals.
:/

The pot-au-feu (French pronunciation: [potofø], "pot on the fire") is a French beef stew. Many countries have similar dishes with local ingredients.

We made this the other night. We've been making it since the kids were wee. It makes a great company supper. Loads of different kinds of meat and veg for everyone to pick their favorites.


First you need to cut up some cheriso sausage and some penchetta. You can use regular bacon and spicy sausage if you can't find the Italian yumminess in your area. Fry the delicious meat chunks in some olive oil and butter until it gets a bit crunchy around the edges.


Put some mini onions into boiling water for a couple minutes to blanch them for peeling.


Push the penchetta and cheriso sausage to the outside of the pan and use the middle of the pan to sear the outside of a roast. Sear all the sides and the ends.


Add one carton of beef broth, one large tin of diced tomatoes, one tin of pitted black olives, some peeled garlic, some sausages or any other meaty goodness of your choice. (I stay away from fish and keep that for another stew.) Then add some herbs of your choice, I used thyme. Finish with salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.


Take the onions out of the water after a couple minutes then drain them.
Cut off the ends.


The skin will just pop off the outside if you give it a squish. So easy!


Add in your peeled mini onions. Bake the whole works at 350 degrees for about three hours.


Now it's time to add the veggies. I added carrots, leeks and potatoes. Anything goes though, I like to add baby squash and baking apples sometimes. Make sure to cut up the veg so they are about the same size so they cook evenly.


This is what it looks like after you bake it for another two hours. I cut up the beef roast to make it easier to serve.


We tend to plunk the roasting pan right in the middle of the table and serve it with a farmers loaf and butter. So delicious!