Fustian (noun)
1: a strong cotton and linen fabric
2: high-flown or affected writing or speech; broadly : anything high-flown or affected in style
Examples: Readers with a low tolerance for fustian may be put off by the writer's style, but there is no denying that his arguments have merit.
"To be wearing plain dimity and fustian in a room full of satin, velvet and diamonds took an effort of will." -- From Daisy Goodwin's 2011 novel The American Heiress
Did You Know?: "Fustian" has been used in English for a kind of cloth since the 13th century, but it didn't acquire its high-flown sense until at least three centuries later. One of the earliest known uses of the "pretentious writing or speech" sense occurs in Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus when Wagner says, "Let thy left eye be diametarily [sic] fixed upon my right heel, with quasi vestigiis nostris insistere," and the clown replies, "God forgive me, he speaks Dutch fustian." The precise origins of the word "fustian" aren't clear. English picked it up from Anglo-French, which adopted it from Medieval Latin, but its roots beyond that point are a subject of some dispute.
Merriam-Webster Online
Ingredients:
6 ounces pancetta
3 lbs stewing beef
1 bottle of dry red wine (a Burgundy works well)
3 cups beef stock (just above room temperature)
2 large carrots, diced
1 red onion
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves mashed
2 tbsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of thyme
¼ cup flour
optional:
½ pound mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
Directions:
Dice pancetta into 1-inch size pieces. Heat a dutch oven and fill with olive oil, add pancetta and cook until crispy. Remove cooked pancetta from pan.
In a plastic bag place the beef, flour salt and pepper, shake to coat the pieces thoroughly. Take pieces out of the bag (shaking to remove excess flour) and put on a plate.
Add beef to the dutch oven in small batches, do not overcrowd! Brown each piece until golden and crisp on either side. Remove beef and place on a clean plate.
Next, add onions and half the bottle of red wine to de-glaze the pan (scrape the bottom to get all the good greasy bits out), cook until the onions are translucent.
Then, add the browned beef, beef stock, 1tbsp of salt, cooked pancetta, garlic, carrots, herbs and freshly cracked pepper. Cook on medium-low for 3-4 hours or longer if using a slow cooker (closer to 6-8 hours depending on the heat) instead of a dutch oven. The lower the heat, the longer you have to cook it for. You’ll know it’s done when the meat practically falls apart when you shove a fork in to it.
For the Mushrooms:
Heat olive oil and butter in a pan on medium, add mushrooms and cook until browned. Add to stew at the same time as the beef.
Serve with french bread, focaccia or anything bread-like and absorbent to soak up all that delicious sauce! It also works great served on a bed of mashed cauliflower!
