Belgian recipe
How to make Flemish beef and beer stew
carbonade flamande, stoofvlees or stoverij
Flanders, now eaten all over Belgium
Beef slowly stewed with onions in a dark Flemish beer, thickened with a slice of bread spread with mustard. A little brown sugar and vinegar give the sauce a gentle sweet and sour taste. It is served with fries, boiled potatoes or stoemp.
Ingredients
- 1 kg stewing beef, such as chuck, cut in large cubes
- 3 onions, sliced
- 30 g butter and 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 500 ml Flemish brown ale (oud bruin) or another dark beer
- 2 slices of bread, spread thickly with mustard
- 2 bay leaves and a few sprigs of thyme
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cider or wine vinegar
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Brown it in batches in the butter and oil in a heavy casserole, then set it aside.
- Cook the onions in the same pot over a low heat for about 15 minutes until soft and golden. Stir in the flour.
- Put the beef back, pour in the beer and add the herbs. Lay the bread slices on top, mustard side down.
- Cover and simmer very gently for 2 to 2.5 hours, stirring now and then, until the meat is very tender and the bread has melted into the sauce.
- Stir in the sugar and vinegar, taste for salt and pepper and serve with fries or boiled potatoes.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Every region and family has its own version. Some cooks add prunes, gingerbread or speculoos biscuits to the pot.
Take the trip to Belgium
