Beef braised in beer with parsnip purée

Name: Beef braised in beer with parsnip purée
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Belgian
Ingredients: 40 g butter, melted; 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped; 2 large brown onions, thickly sliced; 5 sprigs thyme; 1 stick celery, roughly chopped; 60 g butter; freshly ground black pepper, to taste; salt, to taste; 3 tablespoons plain flour; 100 ml 35%-fat cream; 2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper; 375 ml beer; 3 teaspoons salt; 500 g potatoes, scrubbed; ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil; 6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley; 1 clove garlic; 5 dried bay leaves; 2 x 1.5 kg beef shanks, cut in half*; 1 kg parsnips, peeled; 1 medium brown onion, roughly chopped; 2 teaspoons white sugar

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

Wild Weed Pie

By Janni Kyritsis and Roberta Muir

Published 2006

About

This is a classic Belgian dish called beef carbonade. The Belgians use beer in numerous dishes, while the Irish make a classic beef and Guinness pie and lovely stews using Guinness. I had a wonderful beef carbonade in a Belle Époque-style Belgian restaurant in Paris called Bouillon Racine. I was fascinated by the number of dishes on the menu containing beer, and the immense list of beers they had on offer. I have tried many different versions of beef carbonade, but I like this one best.