Beef Bourguignon

This month's Delicious magazine had a great recipe for beef bourguignon. It looked so good that I decided to adapt it to the slow cooker. The results were fantastic. It does require a little preparation the day before because to enhance the flavours, you will need to marinate the meat in red wine. The results are worth it though.

Ingredients 
2kg chuck steak, cut into small pieces
750ml bottle red wine
1/4 cup plain flour
1/3 cup olive oil
150g pancetta, rind removed, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 leeks (pale part only), thinly sliced
3 carrots, chopped
500ml beef stock
4 thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
Chopped flat leaf parsley, steamed green vegetables and buttered potatoes to serve.

Place the meat in a bowl and pour over the red wine. Cover and marinate in the fridge over night.
The following day, bring the meat back to room temperature and drain but reserve the wine.
Toss the drained beef with flour. Heat 1 1/2 tbs of oil in a large frypan and fry the beef  until browned all over. Set aside. Add another tablespoon  of oil to the frypan with the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes until starting to crisp. Add the garlic, leek and carrot, then cook, stirring for raound 2-3 minutes. Stif in the beef.
Transfer the meat dish from the fypan into a slow cooker. Pour in the stock and reserved wine. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Switch slow cooker onto low and cook for 8 hours.
Serve the dish with steamed vegetables and potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Source: Delicious Magazine, Issue 127, June 2013, pg. 64.