It’s not unusual to find cookbooks under our tree at Christmas. I had read a review of Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel and added it to my Christmas Wish List. I was happy to see it along with two other books this year.
Claudia Roden is an Egyptian-born British cookbook writer and cultural anthropologist of Sephardi/Mizrahi descent. She has written many books on middle eastern cooking. I recognized some of the covers but this is my first book from her. It contains recipes from France, Greece, Spain, Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco – all inspired by her lifetime of travel. I often sit down with a cookbook and small sticky notes to mark the recipes I want to try. I started this ritual with this book but there were so many good recipes that I didn’t need to mark up the entire book.
This daube (French for ‘stew’) looked just right for a dinner we hosted for our friend, Julia P, over the holidays. I made it with beef cubes but it is traditionally made with lamb cubes. We definitely see how the flavors of this stew would go well with lamb and plan to try this combination soon.
It’s a simple stew of meat, carrots, onions and red wine but the added flavors of bay leaves, thyme, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and orange peels make it stand out. Finish it off with a bit of Cognac or brandy (optional) to highlight the sweet and fruity flavors. You can prepare this stew a day in advance and reheat over low before serving.
I used a bottle of our favorite cooking (you can drink it, too) wine, La Vieille Ferme Rouge, or ‘Rooster Red’ as we like to call it. It’s produced in the southern Rhone not far from Provence (we made this trip so I can attest to this first hand) with Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah grapes.
I found there to be a fair amount of liquid after I cooked the beef for three hours (it was so tender!). Since you don’t flour the beef when browning, the sauce isn’t very thick. So I uncovered the pot and increased the heat to medium-high and cooked off some of the liquid. I served this alongside some small steamed potatoes tossed with olive oil, parsley and flaky sea salt.
Imagine arriving at a 19th century inn in Provence and smelling this stew. I’m sure that it made many a weary traveler happy.
Update: I made this recipe again with lamb and it was wonderful. Dare I say the spices and herbs are even better with lamb. My stepmother, Peggy T, said it well – even non-lamb eaters will enjoy this. You can use lamb shoulder or leg – remove as much fat as possible.
| Provençal Daube | | Print |
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pounds small beef cubes (chuck, top round or bottom round) (see Notes)
- 2 large onions, halved and cut into thin slices
- 4 ounces diced pancetta
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch rounds
- 1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- Strips of peel from 1 orange
- 4 tablespoons Cognac or brandy (optional)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven (at least 6 quarts) over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add beef in batches and sear until brown on all sides. Be sure not to crowd beef too much. Remove cooked beef to a plate. Add oil as needed and continue to cook remaining beef.
- If there’s remaining fat, drain all but 1 tablespoon. Over medium-high heat, add pancetta to the pan and sauté until browned. Using a slotted spoon, remove to the plate with beef.
- Add additional olive oil if needed to pan and add in onion slices. Cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until soft and slightly caramelized. Add a few tablespoons of water if onions are sticking to the pan.
- Add garlic and stir for one minute. Add carrots and stir for one minute. Season with salt and pepper.
- Return beef and pancetta to the pan and pour in the wine. Stir in bay leaves, thyme sprigs, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, sugar and orange peels.
- Beef should be mostly covered at this point – if not, add water. Bring to a boil and cover. Turn heat to low so that the daube is barely simmering. Put cognac or brandy, if using, next to the stove so you don’t forget it.
- Cook for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is very tender. The daube can be served now or remove the cover and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes on medium-high heat to cook off some of the liquid. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs (leaves will have fallen off). You can also remove the orange peels but likely do not need to. Just before serving add in the Cognac or brandy, if using.
* Can be made a day in advance or frozen for up to three months, and reheated over low heat.
Source: Adapted from Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean: Treasured Recipes from a Lifetime of Travel (2021)
This stew is a nice variation on traditional beef stew. The spices and aroma said brown rice to me instead of potatoes which worked well and made the meal a little lighter. Yum!
Susie – I’m so glad you liked this. The aroma is wonderful! We’ll try it with brown rice next.