Pamela Anderson’s vegetable bourguignon is a hearty dish for cozy nights

Cooking with wine always feels elegant and elevated. This Vegetable Bourguignon, from my cookbook “I Love You: Recipes from the Heart” is hearty and satisfying for family dinners or for curling up by a fire on dark, moody days. And it’s always good for leftovers.

Serve it with a mashed vegetable – potatoes, parsnips or celery root (also known as celeriac). In this recipe, I call for celeriac because I enjoy sneaking in new things for my family to try. My dad had no idea he was eating mashed celery root instead of his regular potatoes at a Sunday meal… and almost fainted when I told him. Gotcha!

Servings: 6

BOURGUIGNON

⅓ ounce (10 g) dried porcini mushrooms

2½ cups (600 ml) boiling water

2½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 celery stalks, cut into chunks

Fine sea salt

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup (240 ml) red wine

1 pound 10 ounces (750 g) fresh mushrooms (any kind), thinly sliced

6 sprigs thyme

1 sprig rosemary

2 bay leaves

½ small bunch (about 100 g) lacinato kale, center ribs removed, leaves chopped

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnishing

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MASH

3½ pounds (1.6 kg) celeriac (about 2)

6 garlic cloves, sliced

¼ cup (50 g) plant butter

3 tablespoons plant sour cream

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Make the bourguignon:

Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small, heat-proof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Set aside to soak while you cook the vegetables.

Warm the olive oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the carrot, celery, and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.

Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook for another minute. Pour in the wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any golden bits. Add the soaking liquid from the porcini mushrooms (give the porcinis a quick chop and add them as well) along with the sliced fresh mushrooms. Tie the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves into a little bundle with a piece of twine and add to the pot. Cover the pot and put in the oven to cook until the vegetables are very tender and the stew has thickened slightly, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the mash:

Peel the celeriac and cut into large chunks. Place them in a medium saucepan with the garlic and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, until tender when poked with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain. Return the drained celeriac and garlic to the pot, add the plant butter and plant sour cream, and mash until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the bourguignon from the oven. Mix in the kale, cover the pot, and return it to the oven to cook for a final 10 minutes or so, until the kale is tender. Stir in the vinegar and season with pepper and ½ teaspoon salt. Taste and add another little pinch of salt if you like.

Serve the bourguignon garnished with chopped parsley alongside the celeriac mash.

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Pamela Anderson, author of “I Love You: Recipes from the Heart,” is an actress, activist and lifelong cook and homemaker.

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Excerpted from “I Love You” by Pamela Anderson. Copyright (copyright) 2024 by Anderson Media Company, LLC. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.