Daube Provençal With Orange and Olives

By suedo

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds stew beef (boneless beef chuck)
• 1 bottle red wine
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 6 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• bouquet garni
• olive oil (4 tablespoons or more)
• 4 ounces bacon, cut in small pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• juice and zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup black olives (Niçoise olives if possible)

Preparation

Step 1

Cut the beef in pieces about 1 1/2 inches on each side. In a large bowl, mix together the wine, vinegar, chopped onion, chopped carrots, cloves, salt, pepper, bouquet garni, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the meat and stir to cover all the meat in the marinade. Cover well and place in the refrigerator over night.
The next day, reserving the marinade, remove the meat and dry it well with paper towels. In a large Dutch oven (or similar sturdy and oven proof cooking vessel with a close fitting lid), warm 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat. Working in small batches (two or three), add the meat and brown it on all sides. After the meat is browned, remove it from the pot, and set it aside on a plate. Continue until all of the meat has been browned. You may need to add a little more olive oil along the way to keep things from sticking.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and then add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Add the crushed garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the meat back into the pot and then the reserved marinade. Stir in the orange juice and orange zest. Bring the daube to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and cover tightly.
Cook for two hours on low heat. At the end of this cooking time, stir in the black olives. If a lot of the sauce has evaporated, you may want to add a cup of so of water at this point. Put the lid back on the Dutch oven and put it in the oven set at 350°F to bake for one hour.
Serve hot from the oven or rewarm it to serve the next day.