Provençal Daube with Red Wine
Beef slowly braised in red wine with carrots, oranges, and Provençal herbs until the meat falls apart at the touch of a spoon. A dish that waits for its guests and improves when reheated.
Beef slowly braised in red wine with carrots, oranges, and Provençal herbs until the meat falls apart at the touch of a spoon. A dish that waits for its guests and improves when reheated.
My friends, when I entertained in Paris or the South, I didn't rush to the stove at the last minute, no! I put the daube to simmer from morning, in wine and orange, and let it dream while I painted and talked. In the evening, the house smelled of the South, we uncorked the bottles, and Tonio and the poets stayed at the table until the candles died. A good stew, you see, is like a story: you have to give it time to become beautiful.
- •Beef for braising (chuck, cheek) — a nice piece (meat)
- •Country red wine — one bottle (cooking liquid)
- •Carrots — a few (vegetable)
- •Onions — two or three (aromatic)
- •Dried orange peel — a piece (Provençal fragrance)
- •Bouquet of thyme, bay, rosemary — one bouquet (herbs)
- •Black olives — a handful (salty garnish)
- •Olive oil, salt — as needed (cooking and seasoning)
Provençal Daube with Red Wine
Beef slowly braised in red wine with carrots, oranges, and Provençal herbs until the meat falls apart at the touch of a spoon. A dish that waits for its guests and improves when reheated.
Why this dish? Consuelo loved long evenings with wine, in Paris and in Agay in the Var, where Saint-Exupéry's family owned a property. The daube, a Provençal stew that simmers for hours, was the perfect dish for those tables of artists and friends that never ended.
My friends, when I entertained in Paris or the South, I didn't rush to the stove at the last minute, no! I put the daube to simmer from morning, in wine and orange, and let it dream while I painted and talked. In the evening, the house smelled of the South, we uncorked the bottles, and Tonio and the poets stayed at the table until the candles died. A good stew, you see, is like a story: you have to give it time to become beautiful.
Ingredients (period version)
- Beef for braising (chuck, cheek) — a nice piece (meat)
- Country red wine — one bottle (cooking liquid)
- Carrots — a few (vegetable)
- Onions — two or three (aromatic)
- Dried orange peel — a piece (Provençal fragrance)
- Bouquet of thyme, bay, rosemary — one bouquet (herbs)
- Black olives — a handful (salty garnish)
- Olive oil, salt — as needed (cooking and seasoning)
Ingredients
- Beef cheek or chuck — 1.2 kg, cut into large cubes (meat)
- Full-bodied red wine — 75 cl (cooking liquid)
- Carrots — 4, sliced (vegetable)
- Onions — 2, sliced (aromatic)
- Garlic cloves — 3 (aromatic)
- Orange zest (organic) — 1 large strip (Provençal fragrance)
- Bouquet garni (thyme, bay, rosemary) — 1 (herbs)
- Pitted black olives — 100 g (salty garnish)
- Olive oil, salt, pepper — as needed (cooking and seasoning)
Method
- The day before, marinate the meat in wine with onions, carrots, garlic, orange zest, and bouquet garni.
- The next day, drain the meat (reserve the marinade) and brown it in olive oil in a Dutch oven.
- Add the vegetables from the marinade, sweat for a few minutes, then pour in the marinade wine.
- Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on very low heat for 3 to 4 hours.
- Add the olives 30 minutes before the end. The meat should fall apart with a fork and the sauce be syrupy.
- Serve hot, with fresh pasta or steamed potatoes, and a glass of the same wine.
How it was made : Provençal daube was traditionally cooked in a glazed earthenware daubière, placed at the edge of the fire or in the embers, for very slow cooking. Dried orange zest and garrigue herbs (thyme, rosemary) mark Provence; the wine marinade served both to flavor and tenderize working meats.
The contemporary twist : Make it the day before: reheated, it's even better—ideal for a lingering table of friends, just as Consuelo loved.
Consuelo Suncín · Charactorium