Daube de boeuf Provençal

The daube is a dish whose origins are not limited to Provence and spread across the whole south of France. However, the Provençal version of the dish is perhaps the most distinctive and flavourful. The daube is not just a dish, it is a way of cooking that utilizes a particular kind of casserole type vessel called a daubiere. See below for an image of the vessel which is usually layered with meat at the base and vegetables and aromatics at the top. I don't feel like this is a barrier to you making this dish at home. A heavy based casserole dish or dutch oven will more than suffice.



Ingredients that are found commonly in the Provençal daube might include beef or lamb, usually a tougher cut that lends itself to slow cooking. I have read that you should always use two different cuts of meat in the dish and I would recommend cuts such as chuck, blade, round and shank to get the best results. Vegetables and aromatics that could find their way in are carrots, onions, tomatoes, olives, fennel, bay leaves, garlic, cloves, thyme, peppercorns, oregano, parsley, rosemary, chervil, basil, orange and cinnamon. The abundance of fresh herbs in the region often leads chefs to use anything at hand. The inclusion of ingredients such as orange and cinnamon is another interesting aspect of this dish illustrating the influence the Arabs had during their occupation of the region. Daube is also commonly served on macaroni which may be unusual in other regions, but the proximity to Italy once again shows its influence. The other key ingredient is of course wine and you should ideally use a Côtes du Rhône, however any full bodied red can be used such as a shiraz. Do not use ultra cheap wine - it will ruin the dish as the flavour of the wine will carry throughout.

Although this dish is essentially a peasant dish it is not an everyday dish. Generally it is reserved for special occaisions and this may be because of the length of preparation time. Marinating can take 1-3 days, then the dish is slow cooked for 3-4 hours and then left to sit for the flavours to develop further. While not a technically complex dish it does take time so I suggest preparing during the week for a feast on the weekend. The recipe below is adapted from one published in the LA Times.


Ingredients (serves 4-6)

Bouquet Garni
1 orange peel, pith removed
3 to 4 bay leaves
4 sprigs parsley
6 to 8 sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon

Wrap the above ingredients in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen string.

Daube
2 pounds chuck or round steak
1/2 pound piece smoked bacon
1 (2-inch) slice beef shank (about 600g)
3 medium onions, cut into eighths
3 large carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut diagonally in 1/2 -inch slices
2 medium bulbs fennel, tops trimmed, cut in eighths
1 bottle (750 ml) red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 to 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1kg tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (2 1/4 cups chopped) or 1 3/4 cups diced canned tomatoes, drained
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup brine-cured black olives
1/4 cup chopped parsley

1. Cut the beef into 1 1/2 -inch cubes. Remove the rind off the bacon and cut in lardons.

2. Line a large ovenproof casserole with the bacon rind and place the beef shank on top. Add the cubes of beef, lardons, onions, carrots and fennel, and pour in the bottle of wine.

3. Add the bouquet garni and submerge into the ingredients until covered. Drizzle over the olive oil so the vegetables on top do not dry out. Cover and refrigerate for 1- 3 days.

4. Heat oven to 400F/205C degrees. Remove the daube from the refrigerator while the oven is heating. Sprinkle the daube with the garlic and chopped tomatoes, add 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and pour in enough water to almost cover the vegetables. Place on a lower shelf in the oven and cover and cook until the broth is almost simmering, about 45 minutes.

5. Stir the meat and vegetables. Add the olives. Reduce the heat to 300F/150C degrees. Cook, stirring occasionally, until a cube of beef can be easily crushed between your finger and thumb, 2 1/2 to 3 hours more. The vegetables will be very tender.

6. Take the pot from the oven and lift out the slice of shank. It needs to be tender and falling off the bone, so will probably need more cooking: Put it in a medium saucepan and ladle in enough broth from the daube to cover the meat. Cover and simmer until the meat is almost falling apart, 30 to 45 minutes longer.

7. Remove the shank with the bone, and let cool until tepid. Return the broth to the casserole and discard the bouquet garni. Taste the broth. If the flavor is thin and needs reducing, ladle as much as possible into a saucepan and boil until the flavor is concentrated and the liquid is reduced by about half, to about 4 cups. Meanwhile, pull the meat from the bones of the shank and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Stir the meat gently into the casserole, with the marrow from the central bone. When the broth is reduced, stir it back into the daube, taste and adjust the seasoning.

8. If possible, prepare daube a day or two ahead and keep it, in its pot, in the refrigerator. Reheat it in a 350-degree oven, allowing at least an hour and probably more for heat to penetrate to the center. Just before serving, stir in the chopped parsley and check the seasoning again. Ladle the daube directly from the pot into shallow pasta bowls.

Niçoise salad

A debate lasting over a century based solely around a salad may seem absurd to some, however the French could never be accused of not being passionate about their food. Named after Nice, the city of its origin, the salad’s ingredients have never been agreed on. Ingredients used in the salad include: tuna (canned and fresh), olives, anchovies, potatoes, lettuce, green beans, peppers, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, boiled egg, capers, cucumber, basil, shallots, garlic, oil, vinegar and dijon mustard. Almost every one of these ingredients has been argued by purists not to be true to the original dish aside from beans and olives.

Although not adhering to any strict guidelines I will show you how I like to make a salad Niçoise. No doubt if I had a French purist looking over my should while preparing, they would undoubtedly roll their eyes and shake their heads profusely. To infuriate them more this is adapted from a Gordon Ramsey recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Salad
450g potatoes either new potatoes (You could also use kipfler)
300g green beans (preferably haricot vert, which are a French green bean)
24 cherry tomatoes, halved
24 black olives (do not skimp on cheap olives, they need to be soft and full of flavour)
2 tbsp capers
16 anchovies (I would also aim for a quality anchovy as this flavour is key to the dish)
2 banana shallots finely sliced
2 baby gem lettuce or perhaps cos, separated into leaves (Do not use fancy lettuce you need the cool crunch of these varieties)
4 tuna loin steaks, about 100g each (it is more classic to use a tinned tuna so feel free to use either)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 large eggs
Few basil leaves
Salt and Pepper

Vinaigrette
1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or you can substitute red wine vinegar)
40ml extra virgin olive oil
40ml olive oil
1 tbsp groundnut oil (peanut oil is also fine as it has little taste)
Juice of ½ a small lemon

Preparation:
1. Boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes or until tender. Drain well then halve.

2. Trim the beans, then cook in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh in iced water. Drain well once more and pat dry with paper towel or a clean tea towel. It is important not to overcook the beans or skip the refreshing step, as they need to maintain a crisp texture. Classically the beans would have been served uncooked however I prefer a light blanch.

3. Mix the potatoes and beans with the tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies and shallots.

4. Whisk the ingredients for the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Toss the tomatoes, olives, anchovies and capers in some of the vinaigrette.

5. Place the eggs in to a pan of boiling water and cook for 7 minutes (for a well set white and soft yolk). Plunge the eggs into iced cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Once cooled, roll the egg on the work surface, gently applying pressure so the shell begins to crack, then peel off the shell.

6. Place 3 of the larger lettuce leaves on each serving plate then divide the salad between them.

7. Heat a large non-stick frying pan until it is hot when you place your hand over it. Add 1 tbsp of the oil then lay in the tuna steaks. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side; you will be able to see how they are cooking as the colour rises up the sides. You are aiming for a seared outside but still a decent amount of colour in the centre. Remember that fish continues to cook off the heat so remove just before you think they are ready. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar. Season and lift out of the pan. Cut each steak into thin slices and place onto the salad.

8. Cut the eggs in half to reveal the soft yolk and place the on top of the tuna. Be careful not to lose all that delicious yolk when you slice them open. Scatter with basil leaves then serve.

Provence-Côte-d'Azur, France

So the Egg and Spoon is back after an extended Christmas and New Year break. I didn’t stop eating and cooking over the last few months but the holiday season always makes it hard for me to keep focused. There is also one more slight change heading into 2010. Instead of focusing on the food of a particular country for a month, I will now be focusing on the food of specific region of a country each week. As the food from any particular country can be so wide and varied, I thought this would make more sense. This means I also don’t get stuck eating food from one country for a whole month which I hate doing.

The first region on the list is Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in south eastern France. Provence borders Italy to the east and stretches along the Mediterranean. The region encompasses cities such as Nice, Marseille and Avignon. The French Riviera, which stretches south west along the coast from Nice, has been a vacation hot spot location for royalty and the rich and famous since the 18th century. The coast is also a major yachting destination hosting 50% of the world’s super yacht fleet every year.

Aside from the excesses the region has become so well known for, it is also home to some of the best regional food and wine in France. A combination of climate, geography and history has helped Provence to develop a uniquely distinctive cuisine.

Olive oil is perhaps the most commonly used ingredient in Provencale cuisine. Olives were brought to the region two and a half thousand years ago by the ancient Greeks and now the region produces some excellent oil which is used widely in kitchens across the region. Olives also form the base of Tapenade, a paste made from olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil, which originated in Provence.

Garlic is also another ingredient that is used widely in dishes and has been labelled “the truffle of Provence”. The abundance of sunshine and fertile soils also provides an agricultural dream for produce, with some vegetables producing up to three crops a year. Tomatoes, aubergine and courgettes, as well as a plethora or fresh herbs such as thyme, lavender, fennel, rosemary and basil, are all readily available and used extensively in dishes. These are often sold in street markets across the region, which are some of the best in Europe.

A close proximity to the ocean means that seafood also commonly takes pride of place on plates in the region. Fish such as the rascasse and loup de mer feature often as well as squid and octopus, mussels, langoustine and crabs. Also popular are preserved fish such as anchovies and salt cod.

Cheeses in the region are generally made from goat and ewes milk, with two excellent cheeses being produced are Banon and Picadon. The region also produces excellent world renowned chocolate such as Valrhona and almond sweets called calissons and delicious nougat.

The region produces an excellent Rose and is responsible for the production of nearly 50% of the Rose made in France. It is also home to the famous wines from Châteauneuf du Pape. A sought after wine which is made from a blend of up to 13 grapes but generally featuring the grenache grape. Aside from wine however it is pastis that is an institution in Provence. Pastis is an apertif that has a predominate aniseed flavour however contains a range of spices including cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pepper. Although produced in different forms around the world the most famous pastis from France is Pernod Ricard.

It is time to cook, eat and drink and whisk myself off to Provence this week, I am looking forward to it.