I was searching for a recipe for a Christmas dinner party; something I could prepare ahead of time and take the holiday stress down a notch. “Julienne” is a charming neighborhood bistro in San Marino, Ca. and their cookbook includes an appealing recipe that began with the following introduction…”I’ve been making this daube since my earliest days as a caterer, and to this day it’s probably our single most popular dish. A Food Network cooking show once recommended it as one of the best foods to order by FedEx, and every time that episode re-runs, we get inundated with orders”. Definately sounds worth a try!
The very next day after I’d marked the page in the cookbook, I got on a plane to San Francisco for an early Christmas celebration with my Mother and family. I took out my bookclub’s latest pick, the classic Virginia Woolf novel “To The Lighthouse”, written in 1927. My jaw dropped as the heroine of the story, Mrs. Ramsay, called everyone to the table for the Boef en Daube !
“An exquisite scent of olives and oil and juice…and its bay leaves and wine, rose from the great brown dish as Marthe, with a little flourish, took the cover off. The cook had spent 3 days over that dish. ‘It is a triumph’ said Mr. Bankes. It was rich; it was tender. It was perfectly cooked. How did she manage these things in the depths of the country?” The synchronicity at work had made it clear that this would be our dinner!
It is a bit time consuming (not 3 days!) but worth it. A deeply flavored, satisfying meal.
- 6 Tbs. (about) olive oil, divided
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 1 Tbs. minced garlic
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 pounds top sirloin, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 tsp. salt, plus more for seasoning beef
- 2 tsps. freshly ground pepper, plus more for beef
- 4 Tbs. all purpose flour
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red currant jelly
- 3 cups dry red wine
- 1 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest (from one large orange)
- 1 1/2 pounds large carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
- 1 1/2 pounds 2-inch-diameter red skinned potatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup (about 6 ounces) pearl onions, peeled (I used frozen already peeled)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 3 Tbs. of the oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the chopped onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves and saute until the onions are translucent and very tender, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and set aside.
Heat 2 Tbs. of the remaining oil in the same pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Toss half of the beef with 2 Tbs. of flour in a medium bowl to coat lightly. Add the floured beef to the pot and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the beef to the bowl with the onion mixture. Repeat coating the remaining beef with the remaining 2 Tbs. of flour and cooking it until brown, adding more oil to the pot as needed.
Add the beef stock to the pot and stir to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Return all the beef,the sauteed onion mixture, and any accumulated juices from the bowl to the pot. Stir in the tomato paste, currant jelly, and remaining 2 tsp. of salt and pepper. Add the wine. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Stir in the orange zest. Add the carrots, potatoes, and pearl onions. Cover the pot and place it in the oven until the beef is very tender and moist, about 2 hours. The daube can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm the daube over medium low heat, covered, stirring occasionally. Serves 6 to 8
Note: I wanted leftovers, so I made one and a half times the recipe, which ended up being too much for my biggest pot! Also, I ended up inadvertently cooking this longer, both initially and then when I reheated it, and it was still wonderful. Very forgiving recipe!
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