Beef stew from the South of France: Daube Provençal

White wine, orange zest, cloves and olives make Daube Provençal a brighter South-of-France take on Boeuf Bourgignon. Recipe below.

SAY TRADITIONAL FRENCH BEEF STEW and what usually springs to mind is Boeuf Bourgignon, the classic hearty, meaty stew of the Burgundy region, made with mushrooms, bacon, pearl onions, carrots and a big-bodied red wine, usually Burgundy. But the South of France has its own traditional stew, Daube Provençal, with a distinctively brighter flavor.

Part of that brighter flavor comes from orange and cloves, and often, olives. As with any traditional dish, there are countless versions. Boeuf Provençal can be made with white wine, although many recipes use red. It can include tomatoes or tomato paste. It can be served over egg noodles. And it can be cooked on the stovetop or in the oven. Or…

The most traditional way to make a daube is in a daubiere, a bulbous clay pot. According to Francois de Melogue at Simple French Cooking, the daubiere was rested in the dying embers of a wood fire to slowly cook the stew.

Wanting to make our version of this stew as different from boeuf bourgignon as possible, we did use white wine and olives and tomatoes. And we did serve it over egg noodles. We cooked it in the oven (though not in a daubiere). We find that oven braising wraps the entire pot in even, lower heat, cooking everything through more evenly and gently. The end result was delicious, brighter than boeuf bourgignon or most beef stews. But it was still quite hearty—it is a meaty stew, after all.

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Daube Provençal

White wine, orange zest, cloves and olives make Daube Provençal a brighter South-of-France take on Boeuf Bourgignon.

Course Main Course, Stew

Cuisine French

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 to 2-1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast or stew meat, cut into 2-inch cubes
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 3 whole cloves
• 6 to 7 medium carrots, about 1 pound, peeled and cut into thick rounds
• 4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with the juices
• 1 750-ml bottle of dry white wine (we used chardonnay)
• 1 orange
• 1 good-sized sprig fresh thyme
• 1 good-sized sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 cup pitted green olives (see Kitchen Notes)
• cooked wide egg noodles or fresh pasta, for serving
• chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325ºF with a rack in the middle position.
• Pat the beef cubes dry with paper toweling and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 or more tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy, lidded pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef on all sides; work in batches to avoid crowding the beef, otherwise it won’t properly brown. Add more oil between batches, if needed. Brown the meat for 5 to 8 minutes per batch, then transfer it to a bowl.
• While the meat is browning, peel the onions. Chop one roughly and leave one whole, sticking the cloves into it (this will make them easier to find when the daube is done).
• After the meat is browned and set aside, reduce heat under the pot to medium. Add the carrots and garlic to the pot (and drizzle in more oil, if needed). Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to coat everything.
• Add the wine and the canned tomatoes, stirring and scraping up the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Return the meat and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the onion (and cloves) and, using a vegetable peeler, peel 4 or so broad strips of orange zest into the pot (from about half of the orange’s surface). Stir everything together, then tuck the sprigs of thyme and rosemary into the pot.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven.
• Cook for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, until the meat is absolutely fork tender. Remove the cloves from the onion and discard. Roughly chop the cooked onion (it will likely fall apart) and return to the pot. Remove the thyme and rosemary sprigs, and the orange zest. Stir in the olives and cook for another 10 minutes or so in the oven. Stir in a little water, if needed.
• Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper, as needed. Serve over cooked egg noodles. Top with chopped parsley, if using.

Kitchen Notes

The olives. French Picholine olives are nice, if you can find them, but any green olives will work. If they’re overly large (ours were), slice them in halves.