Cook the bacon and set aside.

Brown the beef in the bacon pan. Remove the beef, then sauté the chopped carrots and onions in butter and minced garlic. Add herbs and tomato paste, then heat and stir and deglaze the pan with red wine. Reduce the wine a little.

Coat the beef and bacon in flour and return to the pot. Season add stock then simmer.

In a separate pan, sauté whole pearl onions add onions to the pot then place in the oven with lid on for up to 3 hours at 170C.

Remove the meal from the oven, let stand with the lid off then separate the sauce from the other ingredients using a colander. Reduce the sauce.

Sauté the halved mushrooms in butter and garlic and add them to the meal. Once the sauce is at the right consistency, return it to the main pot, warm the whole dish then serve Beef Bourguignon with a creamy mash.

Preheat oven to 170°C

Open the red wine, pour 150 ml into a good wine glass. Swirl the wine and check the aroma. Swirl again and taste the wine. Place the glass carefully on the counter where it can be easily accessed during cooking but will not be in the way. (no one will miss it from the dish)

Prepare all ingredients as described.

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or heavy based pot. Sauté the bacon over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until well browned but not too crisp. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large dish and set aside.

Pat dry beef with paper towel; sear in batches in the hot oil/bacon fat until browned on all sides. Remove to the dish with the bacon. Drain off any excess bacon fat.

In the remaining oil/bacon fat, sauté the carrots and diced onions until softened, (about 3 minutes), then add 2 cloves (1/3) minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter with half the parsley, bay leaves and tomato paste. Increase the heat and simmer the herb mix. Now, slowly pour the red wine in to deglaze the pot and reduce the wine on medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes.

While keeping an eye on the wine in the pot, sprinkle the flour over the bacon and beef, add a little more pepper and mix it in the bowl coating the meats. Transfer the meats to the pot, rinsing the bowl with a little stock and tipping the juices flour and stock into the pot. Season with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper. Add stock until the meat is covered and reduce the heat to simmer.

Now heat one tablespoon of butter in a frying pan with 2 cloves (1/3) of minced garlic. Add the pearl onions with a little cracked black pepper and sauté on a medium to high heat, keeping the pan moving so that the onions cook evenly. Sauté for around 3 to 4 minutes then transfer the onions to the pot. Deglaze the pan with a little stock, transferring to the pot so none of the flavour is missed.

The pot can now be covered and transferred to the lower part of the oven and simmer for a good 3, (170C) or until the meat is fall apart tender. (check after 20 minutes and the mix should be simmering slowly)

Find the glass of red wine. Take a sip. Well done. Now as you look around your kitchen you should see that you have a little garlic, a little butter and a bowl with half a kilo of small mushrooms, halved.

Return to the kitchen about an hour before you want to serve. Remove the pot from the oven set it down with some space, take off the lid and let it cool a little. You are going to be separating the food and sauce so you don’t want it steaming.

In the meantime, peal and prep the potatoes for the mash. Slice them down and get them in the steamer on the stove.

Now place a colander over a large pot (I do this in my clean kitchen sink). Carefully pour the contents of the pot through the colander into the large pot – you want to collect the sauce in the pot and the meat and onions in the colander.

Tip the meat and contents of the colander back in the main pot and set aside. Discard the bay leaves. Set the pot with the sauce on the stove over low medium heat to reduce. Skim off any fat that might pool on the surface.

Next, prepare your mushrooms: Heat the butter in the pan you used for the onions. When the foam subsides, add the remaining 2 cloves (1/3) garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds), then add in all the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes, while shaking the pan occasionally to coat with the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Once they are browned, add the mushrooms into the main pot with the meat.

Now taste the sauce. Your final task is to get this to the right consistency and flavour.

You should be left with about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat the back of a spoon lightly.

If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of stock. If the sauce is too thin, boil it over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until reduced to the right consistency.

When you have it about right, pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Gently simmer to re-heat the beef bourguignon while you finish off the potato mash and steam the baby broccoli.