Daube Provençale, also known as Daube Niçoise, is the South of France version of the classic "Boeuf Bourguignon". Many of the ingredients and methods of cooking are the same, however it is the addition of orange zest and Niçois olives that make this dish unforgettable. This is a family recipe, full of French cooking tips. Allons-y!
 
Chop your beef into cubes, about 2 inches thick. Chop the carrots, celery and garlic for the marinade.

In a dutch oven, place the beef, carrots, celery, garlic, 4 thyme branches (left whole), 1 rosemary sprig, star anise, cloves, 2 bay leaves and the skin of one orange (use a vegetable peeler). You don't need to make a bouquet garni (or herb bouquet) as we will be straining the marinade afterwards. Top with a half bottle of robust red wine.

Using a big spoon, fold the ingredients over each other so it is nicely mixed. Cover your dutch oven with plastic wrap (so it is air tight) and set in the fridge for 24 hours.

Cooking La Daube Provençale:

Set a pasta strainer inside a big bowl. Transfer the contents of your dutch oven into the strainer - making sure to keep all the juice in the bowl. You will use this later.

Remove the chunks of marinated beef from the strainer and pat dry with paper towels. You must dry the meat. If you skip this step it will not sear.

Lay the dried pieces of meat flat on a cutting board and lightly dust with flour. Use a sieve for this - you don't want too much flour. There is no cutting corners with a Daube, but it will be worth it!

Keep the carrots and celery from the marinade. Discard the star anise, cloves and herb branches.

Wipe down your dutch oven and put it back on the burner at medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil.

In small batches, sear the meat so that there is a light crust on each piece. Allow the meat to brown and remove the pieces once the meat begins to render liquid in the dish. You don't want the meat to boil!

Use tongs, not a spoon, to place the meat in the dutch oven because you want to make sure you are not adding extra liquid. Careful not to add more pieces of meat than can fit in one layer in your dutch oven - you want each piece to brown. This may take several batches to sear all of the meat.

Repeat until all the meat has been seared, making sure to continuously scrape the bottom of your dish with a rubber spatula - this is where all the flavor is! Set the meat aside.

In the bottom of your dutch oven on medium heat, add the pancetta. Allow to brown and then add the peeled mini onions and quartered mushrooms. Sprinkle 2 tsp of sugar on top and sautée until slightly caramelized on medium heat, stirring frequently.

Add the seared meat & marinated vegetables back into the dutch oven as well as the remaining rosemary, laurier (bay leaf) , star anise and thyme.

Add the remaining half bottle of wine and the marinade liquid that you kept in the bowl. If there is room in your pot, add the beef stock. Careful not to fill the dutch oven too full. Stir a few times, folding the ingredients over each other so that it is all well mixed.

Place the lid on your dutch oven and set on the middle rack of your oven at 350 degrees for 2.5 hours. Stir every half hour or so.

When the time is up - add in the olives and stir before serving over your pasta of choice (tagliatelle or spaghetti is reccomended)

The fragrance from this dish is absolutely delectable!
 

Le Chef’s Wife Tips:

• Start making La Daube the day before - the meat needs time to marinade.
• Always, always dry the meat before searing - the texture of the meat will be so much more enjoyable.
• For the onions: place them in a pot of boiling water, strain and let cool - they will be easy to peel!
• Use a marinade brush to wipe the sides of the dutch oven every so often to keep the sides clean. You get all the flavor in the dish and clean up is so much easier afterwards.
• Don't skimp on the cooking time. Tender meat needs to cook low and slow.
• Don’t be afraid to make this dish in advance. La Daube tastes even better the next day! Perfect for holiday entertaining.