Daube Provencale (Provencal Beef and Red Wine Stew)

Daube is the slow-cooked heart of Provencal home cooking — beef braised for hours in red wine with orange peel, olives, and herbes de Provence until deeply tender. It is a Sunday dish that only gets better the next day.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 carrots, cut into chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 strip orange peel
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp herbes de Provence
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Sear the beef
   Pat the beef dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the beef in batches until browned on all sides. Set aside.
2. Soften the vegetables
   In the same pot, add onion and carrots and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Deglaze and combine
   Stir in tomato paste, then pour in the red wine and beef stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Return the beef to the pot along with orange peel, bay leaf, and herbes de Provence.
4. Braise low and slow
   Cover and simmer on low heat (or in a 300°F oven) for 2.5 to 3 hours, until the beef is fork-tender.
5. Finish with olives
   Stir in the olives during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.

Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.