Boeuf Bourguignon

In this country, stew is generally regarded as something you feed the family but not your honoured guests. Not so in France, where this recipe for the most famous of all beef stews, Boeuf Bourguignon, might be served for a special Sunday lunch or dinner with friends. After all it is not cheap to make: you need best-quality well-hung stewing beef and almost a bottle of red wine. As the name suggests it used to be made with Burgundy, but with current Burgundy prices I think I might settle for