Boeuf bourguignon with a twist

You know how it starts...there you are, wondering what to cook for supper when you have a guest, and while you're dreaming of greekish leg of lamb, your Other Half (not necessarily the better one, hee hee) salivates, thinking how nice beef bourguignon would be after all this time.

But all week, you and your foodie pals have chatted of nothing else but Spanish paprika, the smokey type. Incidentally, the Great Nigel (Slater) also raved about it in last Sunday's Observer Magazine. So when you finally get down to it and look through you blog archives to find that recipe you liked so much last year, or even the year before that, suddenly a lightbulbs flares up above your head and you're thinking chorizo instead of lardons, with a good pinch of El Angel paprika for good measure. So you change hardly anything and already your beret-donning stew grows a tan and feels on holiday somewhere the sun shines all year long...yes, beef bourguignon has turned into beef bourguinero (please forgive me).

a large onion, sliced
100g chorizo sausage, peeled and cut into smallish pieces
1 kg stewing beef cut in big dice
a tbsp flour
a tbsp tomato paste
some Spanish paprika to taste
2 bay leaves
a few sprigs of thyme
a celery stick
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
3 carrots, peeled and cut up into sticks
red wine (to stay true to the title, one ought to use Bourgogne)
stock powder
pepper

Fry the onion and chorizo pieces until the onion has softened and the chorizo has released its red fat. Remove from the pot and set aside. Throw the beef into the pot and let it cook until all sides are done, then add the tomato paste and let it fry a little. Add the onions and lardonsand as much paprika as you think will be right (2 tsps?) Pour red wine until it half covers the meat and pour some water until it is just about covered. Throw in a good pinch of vegetable stock powder and add the garlic, thyme, bay leaves and celery sticks as well as the carrots. Cover and let simmer for about two hours or the meat is tender. If you still have liquid sauce, uncover and turn up the heat.
Serve with boiled potatoes, rice or pasta (the latter being a bit unauthentic but not unfitting, as the pasta (penne for instance) will absorb some of the sauce).

Being a wimp (sorry to disappoint you, Nigel) I use "pimenton dulce", the mild type, as I think of it as a good allrounder (plus the easiest to find). I used hot chorizo, so the stew was nice and warm instead of blazing hot, but suit yourself and adapt the degree of hotness to your own tastes.
Oh, the guys loved it! This is the kind of dish that will make a guy think you can cook stew better than his mum...

A year ago : Waterford soda bread