Beef Daube (French Beef Stew)

Called a Daube in reference to the pot this stew is traditionally made in, a daubiere, this is a lush, rich beef stew that is fabulous served with broad egg noodles, or crusty bread rolls. It is easy to make, just allow the time required to slowly simmer (3 hours) This is a great weekend dish (reheating the left-overs for lunch later in the week).

Click here to watch JennyB demonstrate how to make this recipe!

5 pounds (2 kg), lean stewing beef, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil, more if the pan gets dry
4 leeks, washed, trimmed and chopped
2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 head garlic (about 10 cloves)
1 bottle dry white wine
2 cups beef stock (tinned, homemade or bouillon- if you must)
1 tin chopped tomatoes, juice and all
1 big squirt tomato paste (puree)
1 bouquet garni (bunch of fresh herbs- parsley, thyme, bay leaf- tied together in a bouquet)
One 12 to 18 inch long piece of orange zest, or 2 tablespoons chopped zest
Chopped olives of your choice to garnish

1) Brown the meat, in batches, in a big pan. Make sure the pan is hot, set over medium-high heat, before you begin to brown in the olive oil. Do NOT crowd the pan!!! Remove browned (not cooked) meat to a plate to collect the juices.

2) After you have browned all the meat, tip the chopped onion, celery and garlic into the pot and saute for a minute or two. Pour in the bottle of wine (glug-glug), the chopped tomatoes, and the beef stock. Bring just to a simmer, then add in the carrots.

3) Pre-heat the oven to 300F (150C) and assemble the stew: In a large oven-proof pot (with a lid--preferably a clay pot), place the browned beef chunks and all their juices. Pour in the wine/beef stock/vegetable mixture, squirt in the tomato paste (puree) and snuggle in the bouquet garni, then the zest. Stir, cover tightly, then place into the oven and braise slowly for 2 hours.

4) After 2 hours, ladle out 1 cup of stew stock, stick in the fridge to cool completely to room temp, then shake in a jar with 1/4 cup flour. Pour this back into the pot and continue to braise for 1 hour more.

Garnish with chopped olives, of your choice, fat egg noodles and crusty bread. Serves 8-10