Now I know traditionally this meal should be made with red wine and mushrooms. It probably shouldn’t be cooked in a slow cooker either. I also know that a lot of people may tell to call this a beef stew not a Bourguinon. To me these comments are fair but there are two main reasons I decided to make this with red grape juice and courgettes.
Firstly I was serving this to my son Ted who is eight years old. I know that when you cook red wine on a high heat the alcohol cooks off. I’m not sure if the same would happen in a slow cooker. Therefore I didn’t want to make Ted drunk. Ted is lively wire without putting alcohol in him as well.
Secondly, we are not great fans of mushrooms either. Whenever I make a spaghetti bolognese I always use courgettes instead of mushrooms. The courgettes still gave this dish a lot of flavour. The red grape juice was a bit sweet for me but my husband Howard enjoyed it. That’s why I have also said to use bone broth instead. Apart from that we really enjoyed this dish and we hope you do too.
Have you ever changed the ingredients of a recipe to suit your tastes? If so let me know in the comments below and please don’t forget to like and follow me.
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Slow cooker
- Tablespoon
- Stirring and serving spoon
Ingredients
- Stewing or braising steak x 500g
- Onion x 1
- Garlic cloves x 2
- Courgettes x 2
- Tomato puree x 2 tbsp
- Red grape juice or bone broth x 600ml
- Fresh thyme x 4 sprigs
- Rice flour or plain flour x 2 tbsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cashew nut cream cheese x 100mls
- Kale x 2 large handfuls
Method
- Peel, slice and dice the onion and garlic.
- Next peel the courgettes and slice them.
- Place these ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cut the stewing or braising steak into chunky pieces and put them into the slow cooker.
- Now pour in the red grape juice or bone broth.
- Put the fresh thyme in with the other ingredients.
- Sprinkle over the rice or plain flour.
- Then add in the salt and pepper to your tastes.
- Stir all of these ingredients together and put the lid on the slow cooker.
- Turn the cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- 30 minutes before the end of the cooking process stir in the cashew nut cream cheese.
- Just before serving stir in the kale and let in wilt down.
- Serve with creamy mash potato or rice
Slow Cooker Alcohol and Mushroom Free Beef Bourguignon was a hit in our house. Howard and Ted both enjoyed this meal. It was a tasty dish that was so yummy served with the mash potato. We have not tried it with rice yet but I’m sure we will soon. All the ingredients in this dish can be frozen so please feel free to make double and freeze it for another occasion. However you decide to eat this dish, as always, please enjoy. Thank you xxx
Googies Kitchen Life 