Beef stew with mushrooms and chestnuts

I love the fruits that autumn gives us: chestnuts, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, pomegranates... After eating a lot of raw vegetables during the summer, I crave other types of more elaborate dishes and, if they are spoon-fed, much better.

Today, for example, I found some chanterelles at a good price at the greengrocer and I thought they would be great in a beef stew. I have also added some chestnuts to complete the dish and the result will not leave you indifferent. When things are done with care and time, it shows. And this stew prepared in a cocotte for more than 2 hours has its reward: my guests loved it.

The cocotte you see in the photo is the new color of the season, mist gray . I find it to be very elegant and looks very pretty presented on the table. Christmas is just around the corner, so don't forget to put it in your letter for the Three Wise Men!

Evolution Le Creuset round cocotte

Ingredients for 4 people)

• 750g beef to stew, cut into cubes, I used blood sausage
• Flour
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 500ml good quality red wine
• 250ml poultry broth
• A few sprigs of rosemary
• A few sprigs of thyme
• 12 chestnuts
• 200g chanterelles
• 1 ounce dark chocolate
• Olive oil
• Salt

Elaboration

1. Salt the pieces of tenera meat and dust them with flour, shaking off the excess. Pour a splash of olive oil into a cocotte and brown the veal. Once golden, remove it.
2. In the same oil (you can add more if you consider necessary), sauté the julienned onion and the chopped garlic cloves along with a pinch of salt for 20 minutes over medium-low heat. Go around from time to time with a spatula .
3. Add the meat back to the cocotte along with the red wine, the poultry broth and the sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Let it cook covered over low heat for 1 hour and a half.
4. Meanwhile, peel the chestnuts. To do this, make a cut with a knife and put them in the microwave 4 at a time for 20 seconds. You do it in batches because when they are hot they are easier to peel.
5. When the meat has been cooking for 1 and a half hours, add the chestnuts to the stew and cook for 20 more minutes over low heat.
6. Clean and cut the mushrooms and sauté them with a pinch of salt in afrying pan with a splash of olive oil for a couple of minutes over high heat. Add them to the stew and let the whole thing cook for 10 more minutes. Also add the ounce of dark chocolate and adjust the salt mixture, if necessary.
7. I have accompanied the mushroom and chestnut stew with some potatoes and fried white sweet potatoes.

Evolution Le Creuset round cocotte