Beef Daube Provencale
Daub Provencal is a stewed beef dish from the city of Nice that makes use of many of its local ingredients. It is traditionally cooked in an earthenware pot called a daubiere and nestled into the fireplace surrounded by the burning embers to cook long and slow, transforming chunks of beef, red wine, and aromatics (including garlic, olives, anchovies, oranges, dried mushrooms, and tomatoes) into a rich, deep, and flavorful stew. Tie the salt pork so that you can distinguish it from the meat.
Ingredients:
3½ pound beef chuck roast, fat and sinews removed, cut into 2-3inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, quartered and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
¾ ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed, re-hydrated in warm water, liquid strained, and mushrooms minced
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
750-ml red wine (a Cote du Rhone, Cabernet, or similar)
1 ½ cups chicken or beef broth
1 cup water
1½ pounds carrots, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick on the bias
¼ pound lean salt pork, rind removed, tied with string
4 strips orange zest, cut into julienne strips
1 cup pitted nicoise olives, rinsed, patted dried, chopped coarse
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced (about 1 teaspoon)
Bouquet garni — 5 thyme sprigs, 4 parsley sprigs, 2 bay leaves, tied together with twine
1 can whole tomatoes (14.5 ounce), drained and cut into ½ inch pieces
Parsley, minced, for garnish
1 pound egg noodles, for serving
Preparation:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325º F.
Dry the beef with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
Over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and brown the beef, in batches, on all sides. Don’t crowd the pot — if you try to cook too many pieces at once, you’ll steam the meat rather than brown it — and make sure that each piece gets good color. Transfer the browned meat to a bowl.
Return the pot to medium heat, add additional olive oil if necessary, and when shimmering, add the onions, and mushrooms, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the onions soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the flour and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for an additional minute. Whisk in the wine, deglazing the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the broth and water.
Return the beef to the pot, along with accumulated juices. Add the carrots, salt pork, orange zest, half of the olives, garlic, anchovies, and bouquet garni. Bring to a simmer, and arrange the meat so that it is completely covered by the liquid.
Cover the pot, keeping it ajar, transfer to the oven, and cook until a fork inserted in the beef is fork tender and the sauce is thickened and glossy, about 3 hours.
Remove the salt pork and bouquet garni and discard. Stir in the tomatoes and the remaining ½ cup olives, cover and set aside to heat through, about 5 minutes. Skim the fat if necessary, taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings.
Serving suggestion: Use shallow soup plates or small cast-iron cocottes for this stew. Garnish with parsley and serve with egg noodles. Spoon the daube out into the little casseroles and let each guest dig into one.