Provençal beef daube with mushrooms

9
Points®
Total Time
3 hr 3 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
2 hr 43 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Moderate
A daube is a stew cooked in a round, earthenware casserole called a daubière. Its shape prevents the stew’s liquid from evaporating too quickly while it simmers. The most traditional daubes are prepared in Provence, where they are slowly cooked over an open fire, on top of the stove, or in the oven. Our version is made in a Dutch oven and includes beef that's been marinated in red wine, orange zest, rosemary, and thyme. It's also chockfull of other hearty ingredients like red onions, plum tomatoes, dried mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and carrots. Serve with hot ziti alongside, and whomever you make this for will be clamoring for this recipe.

Ingredients

Uncooked lean beef round

24 oz, top, or (1 1/2 pounds) trimmed of all visible fat and cut into 11⁄2-inch chunks

Red wine

8 fl oz, dry

Orange zest

1 tsp, or 3 (4 x 1⁄2-inch) strips

Dried rosemary

1 tsp

Dried thyme

1 tsp

Olive oil

1 Tbsp

Red onion

1 large, coarsely chopped

Garlic

2 clove(s), minced

Water

¾ cup(s), boiling

Plum tomato

14½ oz, can, Italian, cut up

Table salt

1 tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp, freshly ground

Dried mushrooms

½ oz, container, imported

Carrots

6 medium, sliced

Cremini mushroom

1 pound(s), fresh, or white mushrooms, halved

Cooked ziti

4 cup(s), hot

Instructions

  1. Combine the beef, wine, 2 of the orange strips, 1/2 teaspoon of the rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme in a bowl; toss well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to overnight, turning the meat occasionally.
  2. Drain the beef, reserving the wine. Wipe the herbs off the beef and discard along with the orange zest. Pat the beef dry.
  3. Heat the oil in a nonstick Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef. Cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate. Repeat with the remaining beef.
  4. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, garlic, and 1⁄4 cup of the water to the pot. Cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, 3–5 minutes. Return the beef with any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the tomatoes with their juice, salt, pepper, the reserved wine, the remaining orange strip, 1⁄2 teaspoon rosemary, and 1⁄2 teaspoon thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 1 hour.
  5. Add the carrots, the fresh and dried mushrooms, and the mushroom liquid to the pot. Simmer, covered, until the meat and carrots are fork-tender, about 1 hour, partially covering the stew for the last 30 minutes. Serve with the pasta. Yields 1 1/2 cups stew with 2/3 cup pasta per serving.