Northerners are renowned for being true bon vivants, and you only need to try their specialities to understand that this is true. Flemish carbonade, like Welsh rarebit, is a dish that is rich in fat, but smells so good that it makes your mouth water. While Welsh rarebit will have its moment of glory in another article, here we're going to focus on carbonade, with a recipe that will knock your socks off, which can also be made vegetarian by simply replacing the meat with soy protein.  

Flemish carbonade

A cousin of beef bourguignon cooked in wine, Flemish carbonade consists of meat, usually beef or pork, cooked in beer with onions and served with homemade chips.

Here is our recipe for 5 people:

- 600 ml bottles of Chimay Bleue (La Gouden Carolus and Leffe brune also work well)
- 1.5 kg of beef bourguignon or soy protein
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- 2 tablespoons - 2 cloves of garlic - 2 bay leaves - 250 g smoked bacon (can be replaced with 250 g button mushrooms) - 3 carrots, roughly chopped - 2 chopped onions - 1 tablespoon of tomato purée - 4 tablespoons of salted soy sauce - 1 sprig of thyme

Now that you have everything you need, let's move on to making the Holy Grail. First, take a container large enough to hold all your meat and let it marinate with your Chimay Bleue, along with the bay leaves and garlic, which you have crushed beforehand.

After 12 hours, remove the meat and cut it into cubes about the size of your thumb, then coat them in flour. Keep the rest of the mixture for later. Start by heating the oil in a large pan and add the meat until it browns. If it becomes sticky, don't worry and add a little more oil, although the beer should easily stop it from sticking.

Slice the smoked bacon into small pieces before adding them to the pan. When the bacon is cooked, lower the heat and add the onions until they are translucent.

Add the carrots and cover the pan to sweat them for 5 minutes. After this time, add the mixture used for the marinade, the soy sauce and the tomato purée. This should loosen any pieces that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. After that, all you have to do is wait and let it simmer for about 6 hours.

Bon appétit! 

Discover other recipes : Recipe for mushroom risotto with beer and Recipe for salmon with lemon and dill sauce !