This Mushroom Bourguignon is perfect for a cold November evening and for lunch the next day

For my vegetarians and vegans out there.

Meat is expensive. Beef especially. I do not have the money for a fucking chuck roast. And did you know that cows emit massive amounts of methane gas, which contributes to climate change? Not only that, but the water required to upkeep cattle is enormous. My more environmentally sustainable and wallet-friendly solution when I want something hearty and umami and comforting? Mushrooms.

Hear me out, mushroom haters — mushrooms are so much more than a strange, spongey yet tough white button mushroom dubiously thrown into a lasagna or stir fry or on a pizza. I get why so many people hate mushrooms. Prepared wrong, mushrooms can fucking suck, especially white button mushrooms. I love them, personally, but I get why they’re the source of anti-mushroom sentiment.

Kind of looks like shit but it tastes incredible.

I love Beef Bourguignon, an allegedly not very classic but well-loved French red wine-based stew. I adapted this vegetarian version from a variety of sources, from Julia Child’s famous Beef Bourguignon recipe that introduced the dish to Americans, the New York Times’ Mushroom Bourguignon recipe, and Jamie Oliver’s too. Adapting and changing a few steps and ingredients to suit my own taste and access to ingredients led me to coming up with this lovely, hearty vegetarian Bourguignon. Most notably, I don’t use pearl onions, because I can never fucking find them. But if you can find them, go ahead and use them. And! You could even make it vegan if you substitute the butter for olive oil or a vegan butter substitute. But I really like butter for the richness it lends to the dish. If you were making Beef Bourguignon, the fat from the beef and from the lardons would lend that richness. The kind that makes it all gelatinize a little bit when it’s refrigerated. I like butter because it kind of emulates that.