Kitchen Conundrum

  • Home
  • About
  • Eat
    • Appetizers
    • Bread
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Desserts
    • Fish
    • Meats
    • Pasta
    • Poultry
    • Side Dishes
    • Sauces, Dressings and Condiments
    • Soup and Stews
    • Vegetables
  • Drink
    • Beer
    • Cocktails
    • Wine
  • Recipe Index
  • Travel
    • NYC/Metro
    • Cambodia
    • England
    • France
    • Greece
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Vietnam
  • Kitchen Sink
    • Classes
    • Contests
    • Cookbooks
    • Cook The Book Fridays- My Paris Kitchen
    • French Fridays with Dorie
    • Kitchen Gear & Gadgets

French Fridays: Belgian Beef Stew with Beer and Spice Bread – David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

March 19, 2016 by Renee

Belgian Beef Stew-2737Carbonnade flamande au pain d’épice

This recipe could not have come at a better time. We’ve been experiencing some fabulously warm weather here in NYC the past few weeks, but alas, this weekend, to celebrate the Spring Equinox, a dip in the thermometer and another snowfall is in the forecast. The heat in my house has been turned back on and all the windows are tightly closed. So it’s only apropos that we recreate this hearty stew on this last, cold weekend of winter.

Beef carbonnade is popular in Belgium and in the north of France where the winters are long and the ales are plentiful.  The “winter warmer” beers are brewed to be stronger, richer and more full-bodied and taste great when you are curled up next to a roaring fire while you are wrapped in your snuggliest blanket or here, where it’s used to slowly braise a piece of meat into tamed tenderness.

The crucial choice will be, of course, which beer or ale you choose to use for your carbonnade. The variety will really transform the character of the dish depending on the beer’s profile. Needless to say, a good Belgian ale, perhaps of the Trappist variety, such as Chimay, would really be the best choice, but another, with good character, particularly an amber ale, will work just as well.

The distinctive feature of this dish is the spice bread coated with a thin layer of mustard (I used Maille Dijon, of course) that is used to flavor and thicken the sauce. Using the French classic, pain d’épices, a deeply-infused bread spiced with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and honey, it’s reminiscent of gingerbread or Lekach, a honey-cake, and is intensely aromatic.  The bread’s distinctive flavor improves with an overnight rest, giving the flavors time to mellow.  

Pain d'epices -2658

As the dish cooks, the bread breaks down and melts into the braising liquid, providing a thick, rich and slightly sweet and sour sauce that clings to the tender hunks of beef.  

While the stew is simmering, during its last hour, you have just enough time to make a batch of herbed fresh pasta to go alongside.

Herbed pasta-2744

Get the recipes for Belgian Beef Stew with Beer & Spice Bread on pages 198 and 293 of My Paris Kitchen.  The herbed fresh pasta can be found on page 230. 

For details on recreating these recipes, check out the CookTheBookFridays site and see others who are also cooking the book-

You can also buy the book here:

MyParisKitchenDavidLebovitz-269x337
 

 

 

Follow the group on Twitter @ctbfridays

#cookthebookfridays #mypariskitchen

Visit the Facebook Page: Cook The Book Fridays

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links to my Amazon Associate’s account. This means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using these links.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Kitchen Sink, Cook The Book Fridays- My Paris Kitchen Tagged With: Beef, Cook the Book Fridays, My Paris, Spice Cake, Stew

« French Fridays: Dukkah-Roasted Cauliflower-Cook The Book Fridays-David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen
Bruschetta with Grilled Zucchini and Ravioli with Asparagus »

Comments

  1. Piebird says

    March 20, 2016 at 1:28 am

    Wow! You pulled out all the stops with fresh pasta. Impressive!

  2. Shirley (Flourishen Test Kitchen) says

    March 20, 2016 at 2:14 am

    I was at a complete loss when it comes to beer. The wine store could not offer much help either. I like your recommendation of a Belgian ale.. That’s what I’ll get next time.

  3. Teresa says

    March 20, 2016 at 9:14 pm

    The pasta sounds like a wonderful choice to accompany the stew. And I especially love your photo of the stew at the top of your post. I’ve really enjoyed the bread and am looking forward to having an excuse to bake it again when I (eventually) make the stew.

  4. Cher says

    March 20, 2016 at 10:09 pm

    The pasta was a lovely idea. Beautifully done!

  5. Katie says

    March 22, 2016 at 10:13 am

    Gorgeous!! and congrats on your feature by David Lebovitz this week, Renée! Glad you all enjoyed the stew.

  6. Betsy says

    March 22, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    I’ll admit that this stew (any stew) wasn’t my favorite, I am enjoying the variety of bases people made. Your homemade pasta might take this week’s prize! Hurrah!

  7. Jenniferc says

    March 23, 2016 at 11:03 am

    Your photos are beautiful–the stew was certainly not photogenic in my kitchen =) I made David ‘s mashed potatoes but the fresh herbed pasta looks amazing! I do have a pasta maker somewhere I’ve never used…hmmm…

  8. Karen says

    March 24, 2016 at 6:59 pm

    It all looks delicious, and now I can’t wait to make the herbed fresh pasta!

Trackbacks

  1. Bruschetta with Grilled Zucchini and Ravioli with Asparagus says:
    March 28, 2016 at 10:59 pm

    […] nights in the past week. Having made David Lebovitz’s Herbed pasta as a side to the delicious Belgian Stew with beer we had last weekend, and remembering how easy and fun making pasta by hand is, we’ve become a […]

Categories

Archives

kitchconundrum

Mint chip ice cream with fresh mint from the garde Mint chip ice cream with fresh mint from the garden. Cool and refreshing. One of the best recipes from David Lebovitz’s A Perfect Scoop. #cookthebook #cookbook #icecream #homemadeicecream #gardening #herbgarden #mint #chocolatechip #davidlebovitz #recipe
First flowers of the season! And a few vegetables First flowers of the season! And a few vegetables are here too! I was going to prune the crazy overgrown rosebush on the arch but there are robins nesting in it so we’ve let it go wild. Will have to wait to cut it back until after the summer. We don’t mind and they have a safe spot to just be. Last year they built their nest in the grape vines. We feel honored to watch Mr & Mrs fly back and forth all day with food or twigs. They are very busy! #gardening #backyardgarden #growyourownfood #robin #nest #robinsnest
We finished working in the backyard today and cele We finished working in the backyard today and celebrated a power washed deck and cleaned out boxes primed for veggies and flowers with a bottle of rosé. It’s apéro season in the garden! #apero #wine #rosé  #gardening #garden #flowers #vegetablegarden #growyourownfood
A really nice Asian supermarket opened nearby so w A really nice Asian supermarket opened nearby so we restocked our pantry. We met a nice couple there who told us which brands they liked best- love their personal recommendations! Super nice of them! 

We also said goodbye to our old, burnt and wonky bamboo steamer. It served us well but it’s time for a new one. #ranch99 
#asiancooking #asiangrocery #grocery #groceryhaul
Lunch today was @ottolenghi ‘s Cauliflower Cake Lunch today was @ottolenghi ‘s Cauliflower Cake from #PlentyMore #Cookbook It was really quite good. Though we felt it needed a little something…more. It’s a versatile recipe so next time we will add garlic, cumin, or coriander and maybe switch up the cheeses and vegetables. I can see it with feta and spinach or asparagus even,  or even broccoli and a good cheddar. That is the magic of a good base recipe. You can make it however you want! Just have fun with it! #greatrecipes #cookthebooks #ottolenghi #cooking #lunch #eatyourveggies
A bit of spring popped out this week. Hopefully, w A bit of spring popped out this week. Hopefully, warm weather will come and stay. It’s been cold and raining so much (I guess that’s good and needed) so I’ve not been outside much. I need to rake the leaves! But it’s lovely to see some color come through! Soon the tulips will bloom and that also means its time to plant the vegetable garden. Summer really is on the way! #spring #flowers #flowergarden #vegetablegarden #gardening #gardeningcalendar
Taco Thursday’s is a thing right? Well, we can e Taco Thursday’s is a thing right? Well, we can eat tacos any time! Leftover grilled chicken put to good use. #tacothursday #tacotuesday #dinner #corntortillas #yum
Who wants some ooey gooey cheesy melty spinach art Who wants some ooey gooey cheesy melty spinach artichoke dip? It was really good and we have sooo much leftover! Going to be eating it with grilled chicken, pasta and bread for the next week or so. #toomuch #artichokes #spinach #cheese #dip #appetizers #artichokedip
Sunday afternoon snacks. Warm pretzels with cheese Sunday afternoon snacks. Warm pretzels with cheese sauce. #pretzels #snack #cheesesauce #gouda #cheddar #tvsnack #afternoonsnack
Bœuf Bourguignon for dinner today. With mashed po Bœuf Bourguignon for dinner today. With mashed potatoes of course! It’s s project but so worth it. #dinner #beef #boeufbourguignon #frenchcooking
Not much to look at but so tasty! I’ve been want Not much to look at but so tasty! I’ve been wanting to make choucroute garnie since returning from Strasbourg, where I had it a lot. Good sausages are hard to find but a slightly smoky kielbasa, thick cut bacon and uncured hotdogs did the trick. Also, the sauerkraut with apples and white wine had just enough sweet and tang. This is a really easy but absolutely delicious dish. #choucroute #choucroutegarnie #alsace #sauerkraut #strasbourg #dinner #onepotmeal
This is a seriously elevated cauliflower gratin. M This is a seriously elevated cauliflower gratin. Made with an olive oil béchamel, garlic and feta cheese. So delicious and comforting on this cold winter day. Recipe by @aglaiakremezi  #cauliflower #cauliflowergratin #vegetarian #dairy #sidedish #sogood
Some days you just need to make chocolate mousse a Some days you just need to make chocolate mousse and use so many bowls in the process. I think I’ll have two please. (They’re small!) #chocolate #chocolatemousse #mousse #dessert #madefromscratch #delish #chocoholic #darkchocolate
Mushroom Barley Soup and Netflix is perfect for st Mushroom Barley Soup and Netflix is perfect for staying cozy today while there’s a blizzard outside. Stay safe everyone! #lunch #soup #mushroombarleysoup #blizzard #stayinside #fozen
Before the big girl headed back to college this we Before the big girl headed back to college this weekend, we decided to honor her time in Strasbourg by making a tarte flambée. I had bought a wheel of Munster in Colmar and it travelled home with us. Unfortunately, it was a bit overripe when we opened it so we ended up using Comté instead. It was still very tasty. Just wish we had the same wood fired crust they have there. #tarteflambee #strasbourg #colmar #france #munster #cheese #comte
2021 is a wrap! We made it! What a blur this year 2021 is a wrap! We made it! What a blur this year was. But gardening, renovating, a couple of trips and a lot of cooking and eating good things helped get us through. Thanks to you too for being a part of this year! May we all be blessed with another year- healthy, happy and well fed!  #topnine #top9of2021 #diy #2021 #newyears #goodtidings #yearinreview2021 #yearinreview
One of the best meals we had on our recent trip to One of the best meals we had on our recent trip to Paris was at @laparaderestaurant. La Parade specializes in tapas/small plates with a Vietnamese influence. We went specifically to try as many of them as we could and we three girls succeeded in getting through eleven dishes! The standout favorites were the Pho with mushrooms, which had a lovely, delicately scented broth and the Chicken Wings Saïgon style with caramel nuoc mam and citron vert. The spring rolls and the rice paper crepes also rated highly amongst us. The menu changes often so you may just have to go and check it out for yourself! Highly recommend! As for the cocktails, they were very strong but delightful - we had the Little Billy and the Cotton Club. Next time, we will leave room for dessert!  #pariseats #paris #france #restaurant #eatparis #tapas #smallplates #dining #bar #vin #wine #parisfrance #cocktails #laparaderestaurant #restaurantparis #paris11 #tramtramskitchen #food #goodeats #lefooding
After a week in France and way too many suitcases, After a week in France and way too many suitcases, the girls and I are home, but with several Alsatian goodies we brought back. So we spent Christmas day as a family, added several new ornaments to the tree the boys put up and ate lots of cheese, wine, and sweet treats. It was a perfect day of lazy grazing and movies. Hope everyone had a delicious and relaxing Christmas. #christmas #family #cheese #wine #appetizers #hordoeuvres #cookies #paindepices #fortwengeralsace #fortwenger #mireilleoster #bleesz #pigsinablanket #fingerfood #alsace #alsacetourisme #cheeseboard #panettone #noel #madeinfrance #vinalsace #jetlag
Load More... Follow on Instagram

© Copyright 2017 Kitchen Conundrum · Privacy Policy & Disclosures · All Rights Reserved ·

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.