Pot au feu (pot on the fire) is a classic French dish, eaten by families from all over France, both rich and poor. It is incredibly popular in autumn and winter as the ingredients are all in season, it is also a warming stew and soup that is easy and cheap to make but healthy too, the only downside is that it is time-consuming to make.
Pot au Feu ready to eat
Pot au feu would normally be made with beef bones, but as it’s quite hard to get hold of them these days I’ve used beef stock instead. If you do manage to get hold of beef bones, add a bouquet garni as well (not necessary if you’re using beef stock).
This recipe traditionally uses root vegetables, but you can also cook it with courgettes, swede or cabbage, according to taste or whatever you have to hand.
It is best to cook this dish in a pressure cooker as it’s about 3 times faster. Otherwise cook it in a big saucepan or casserole dish for 3 hours.
Pot au feu is the perfect recipe to give you an amazing soup. So whatever you do, don’t throw out the liquid after cooking. Either eat it as a clear broth, or keep a few veg and mash them into the liquid to give you a thicker soup.
French mustard, English mustard, wholegrain mustard and horseradish sauce all go really well with Pot au feu!
I haven’t tried it in a slow cooker yet but I’m convinced it would work brilliantly – do let us know if you give it a try.
Pot au feu (classic French stew)
Ingredients:
- Beef - 1.2kg (stewing & braising steak)
- Leek - 1 (big)
- Celery - 3 sticks
- Parsnip - 3
- Turnip - 2
- Carrots - 6
- Potatoes - 3
- Beef stock - 1 cube
- Water - 2l
Instructions:
Summary:
- Cut the meat into 5cm pieces and boil it for 15 mn
- Peel the parsnips, the turnips and the carrots and cut them into 5 cm chunks
- Wash the celery, the potatoes and the leek and cut them into 5 cm chunks
- (Optional) Skim the top off the boiling meat
- Add the veg and the stock cube to the meat in the pressure cooker, season to taste and cook for 45 mn on low heat (you can also cook this in a large pan but you'll need to cook it for longer, see below for more)
Switch your kettle on. Get all your ingredients ready.
Cut the meat into 5cm pieces. When the water is hot, pour it into the pressure cooker and put it on a high heat. Add the meat and boil it for 15 mn without the lid on.
Meanwhile prepare all your vegetables: peel the parsnips, the turnips and the carrots then cut them into 5 cm chunks. Wash the celery, the potatoes and the leek. Cut the celery and the leek into 5 cm chunks. Don't cut the potatoes as you want them to stay in one piece.
As an option you can skim the top off the boiling meat to remove most of the cooked blood. This is mainly to have a cleaner end result - I didn't do it to show you the raw result.
Add the veg and the stock cube to the meat in the pressure cooker. If you don't have one you can use a big saucepan or a casserole dish and cook for 3 hours.
For those using the pressure cooker, put the lid on and wait until the steam starts escaping. Then turn the heat down to minimum and cook for 45 minutes.
Additional tips:
- If your potatoes are quite small it might be best to cook them separately to avoid them turning to mush.
Don't forget, if you like this recipe please share it! We'd love it if you came back and shared your comments, thoughts, and rating on this dish once you've cooked it. Bon appétit!
I'm linking this up to Recipe of the Week with A Mummy Too, click on the image below to find some other great recipes:
Pot au feu
Pot au feu: Ingredients
Pot au feu: Meat cooking
Pot au feu: Adding the veg
Pot au feu: Cooked
Pot au Feu ready to eat
Gosh this looks lovely and I am a fan of using a pressure cooker for things like this because it speeds the cooking time up so much! It is getting to that time of the year when the pressure cooker will be out in force making soups and stews. I am actually quite looking forward to it this year! It must be because we had such a great summer and I don’t feel cheated like usual!
Ben is the world’s biggest pressure cooker fan, it saves so much time making so many things. I am looking forward to the soups and stews of winter but I’m not sure I’m ready to say goodbye to summer just yet….
Oooh delicious – just the sort of thing I could serve up to my son and daughter for tea. I do love this ‘rustic’ type of dish. Reminds me of delightful holidays spent in France!
Nell@PigeonPairandMe.com recently posted…WIN theate tickets to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
It’s very rustic – I think the French have been eating it since the 1600s! Just what we need with today’s weather – brrrrr!
Yum, I love pot au feu. I was going to publish my recipe next week, (great minds think alike!). I’ll wait until Nov or December 🙂 xx
Mel recently posted…Courgette, Tomato & Goat’s Cheese Quiche
Great minds do indeed think alike! Hope I’ve not thrown a spanner in the works of your blog post organisation! I’d love to see your version when you post it, I think everyone has their own tweaks to it x
Looks tasty. And I’ve nominated you for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award http://blogmumjd.wordpress.com/2014/10/05/sisterhood-of-the-world-bloggers-award/
Yet Another Blogging Mummy!!! recently posted…Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award
Thanks for the nomination but we only blog food-only content on Franglaise Cooking. Thanks all the same though 🙂
Yum. I love any kind of stew – although usually I just chuck everything in and hope for the best!
Stew is exactly what you want in today’s weather – I think the throw anything in is a pretty good method too!
I have a pressure cooker and I have never tried to use it. This looks lovely, must give it a go
Alison recently posted…Campfire s’mores and sleepovers
I’ll have to make sure Ben doesn’t read this as he’s slightly obsessed with pressure cookers! In fact I reckon at least half of our recipes use the pressure cooker.
Looks lovely and warming in the wet weather! We had a pressure cooker years ago but they scare me, they are probably much improved now. I have bought a new slow cooker though! #recipeoftheweek
nutritiousdeliciousness recently posted…Roasted Beetroot and Butterbean Soup
Pressure cookers are such time-savers, you should definitely try them out now! And slow cookers just totally rule…..
That looks so delicious and perfect for this time of year, it reminds me a bit of a Welsh dish called ‘Cawl” the same sort of recipe but with lamb in the place of the beef, really tasty! I will have to try this out 🙂 #recipeoftheweek
My Family Ties recently posted…Tamarind & Coconut Soup – My Family Ties
It is really yummy, and just what you need on miserable days like we’re having at the moment. I wonder if the Welsh dish is an old one like the French one – I’m guessing these types of dishes would have been very popular all over the place in the past – seasonal and hearty!
Sophie, this looks so full of flavour and comforting. Just the kind of dish I crave in the winter. Yum!
Julie’s Family Kitchen recently posted…Giveaway: Culture Vulture Gourmet Cheese Plates and French Salts
It’s just what you need when the weather turns cold 🙂
Love the look of this recipe. It’s over on the BritMum’s foodie round up this month by the way! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing it on Britmums 🙂