Carbonade Flamande Au Spéculoos (Flemish Beef Stew Alongside Speculoos)

Ingredients:
3/4 loving cup caramelized onions *
1 tablespoon butter
1 3/4 lb cubed sirloin
1-pint nighttime beer (preferably Belgian)
1 pocket-size spell province white breadstuff spread alongside potent mustard (like Dijon or Ghent)
two spéculoos cookies**
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chocolate-brown sugar
salt
freshly terra firma dark pepper
(beef stock if needed)


to serve:
fries or boiled carrots together with potatoes
extra cookies for garnish (optional)


Directions:

In a medium, Dutch or French oven saute the onions together with meat inwards butter until the meat is browned. Add the cookies, bay leaf, spices, carbohydrate together with spell of bread.

Pour inwards the beer. The meat should last covered, if not, add together some beef stock to brand upwardly the difference. Bring to a boil together with then trim oestrus together with simmer, covered 45 minutes or until the beef is tender, stirring occasionally.

Serve alongside fries, or boiled carrots together with potatoes. Garnish alongside an extra cookie.



*about two onion's worth
**Two homemade.

My thoughts:

When nosotros were inwards Lille, French Republic a yoke of years agone we, of course, tried all of the local dishes. Since Lille is really closed to Belgium, a lot of the nutrient is really similar. One dish was on nearly every menu, Carbonade flamande, which is a thick beef stew that is traditionally made alongside nighttime beer together with a few slices of hurting d’épices, a spiced loaf cake ofttimes referred to inwards at to the lowest degree the USA every bit French "gingerbread". In looking at menus inwards Lille, however, I saw a variation made alongside non cake simply cookies! Spéculoos (speculaas) cookies to last exact. When nosotros were inwards Brussels nearly 10 years agone the cookies were everywhere (as were the molds to brand them at home) together with nosotros brought dorsum some speculoos spread which over 5 years later on became really pop hither every bit "cookie butter". If you lot are non familiar, it is a spice cookie somewhat similar to a gingersnap. I made a homemade version of the cookie after our trip simply they tin last constitute inwards stores. In the US, Lotus markets them every bit Biscoff cookies together with Aldi sells diverse flavors of speculoos during the winter. You'll desire the classic speculoos for this recipe, non a butter or almond version.

The watch of putting cookies inwards stew didn't seem strange to me at all because Baltimore is already habitation to Sour Beef together with Dumplings which uses gingersnaps to brand the gravy. Plus, the cookies are relatively piece of cake to uncovering hither whereas I'd convey to brand hurting d’épices myself to brand the stew (which I invention to practise simply non today!).

To brand this dish fifty-fifty quicker, I gave myself a caput outset together with caramelized the onions inwards my irksome cooker and heated them upwardly vs starting alongside raw onions. That cutting downward the cooking fourth dimension to good nether an hr (and at that spot was virtually cipher hands-on time) hence I was able to brand this on a random Th eventide vs waiting for the weekend.

Making a stew alongside a spell of mustard-coated bread together with some cookies seems strange simply it totally works! The cookie together with breadstuff completely disintegrate together with magically practise the thick sauce you lot come across above.