Beef pommes boulangère
Pommes boulangère is a dish so special that it deserves a spot on your Christmas table. This recipe comes from the classic but is closer to a hybrid between a cottage pie and boulangère.
This dish is most commonly served with lamb, but Christmas is no time for lamb! I love a roast rib of beef at Christmas – years of dry, almost crumbling turkey breast have scarred me.
My first job in London we roasted 3 whole ribs of beef a day, we were taught to remove the rib caps before roasting, and so, of course this is my preferred technique.
The cap is a delicious cut, in this recipe it’s marinated in red wine and slowly cooked like you would for a bourguignonne, the braised beef paired up with slowly caramelised onions and sliced potatoes is a version I think is more delicious than the original!
That being said, if you aren’t having beef and want to give this a go, drop the rib cap and follow the recipe for a more classic version. There are a few things to get ready but again this can be completely finished the day before and just warmed up on Christmas day.
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 180 mins
Serves: 6
1 Rib cap (optional)
350ml Red wine
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6 Large potatoes (Waxy potatoes – Charlotte, Yukon, Red rooster)
300ml Beef stock
750g Onions (finely sliced)
3 Garlic cloves (finely sliced)
6 Sprigs of thyme (leaves picked)
40g Butter
Salt + pepper
Remove the rib cap from your beef rib, dice into 1-inch squares and place in red wine for 6 hours if you have the time, otherwise jump straight into the cooking. Strain the marinated beef from the red wine and dry, season and in a large frying pan over a high heat colour the beef all over. Add the red wine, bring to the boil and place in the oven covered with foil at 140C fan or 160C for 2 hours. Check, the meat should break down easily and the red wine should have reduced into a sauce consistency.
Peel your onions and slice finely, cook in a pan over a medium heat for around 5 minutes before adding sliced garlic cloves. Cook until the onions are soft and golden brown. Check seasoning and add the picked thyme.
Peel the potatoes and slice thinly with a knife or on a mandolin, season with salt and pepper. Get your dish and start with a layer of braised beef followed by potatoes, add some stock followed by a layer of onions. Repeat but this time no beef, more potatoes, stock and onions and finish with a layer of potatoes and some more stock to around ½ cm above the potatoes. Add your butter. Cook in the oven at 180C fan or 200C for 1.5 hours covered. Then remove the lid and place into the oven at 210C fan or 230c until nicely coloured all over.
