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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.