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Back again
By Ann | April 10, 2008
Finally, we are happy to present another edition of Cooking the Books: The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics! Today’s dish is daube de boeuf provencal from the “meat” chapter, a classic French recipe that proved to be very easy and delicious, yet also a lengthy endeavor.
We began 1 day before cooking, preparing the carrots, onions, celery, cubed beef chuck roast and bouquet garni for their 24-hour wine bath. Here’s a rather frightening photo:
Doesn’t it look like a weird, vegetable-y sangria? I used a whole bottle of Merlot for the marinade. Oh, also, I didn’t make a “bouquet garni” but instead threw the herbs and spices straight into the bowl (this turned out to be a mistake, because I later had to pick out the peppercorns). And, Martha’s recipe calls for a crazy amount of beef — 4 lbs for six people?! — I used 1 pound.
When the mixture had finished marinating, I removed the beef from the wine, patted it dry and seared it in a hot skillet. Separately, in my trusty le Crueset, I boiled the wine for 5 minutes. I returned the beef to the wine, and shoved the pot into a low oven for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. The result was a luscious, rich and flavorful stew, fork tender meat, faintly scented with orange peel — I think the lengthy wine bath helped make the meat extra tender. And though I initally found the sauce a bit tart, with a teeny-tiny addition of sugar, it was perfect.
I served my daube with mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach, but I just noticed in Martha’s photograph that she pairs hers with wide (homemade?) noodles, which would also be delicious. Overall, this recipe was very successful, surprisingly unfussy, and rich in flavor without unhealthy ingredients.
Topics: Cooking the Books |
One Response to “Back again”
Comments
« What’s authentic? | Home | Top Chef redux »
April 14th, 2008 at 10:50 am
This dish was nothing less than a revelation for me. I have always been finicky about braised meats; just not crazy about the texture. But the tangy, boozy flavor of the beef in this stew warmed my heart and tantalized my palate. Part of the deliciousness no doubt came from the care and patience of the marinade. Come to think of it, I love all things marinated (I remember my really enjoying my mom’s marinated mushrooms when I was little). And I certainly don’t mind marinating myself in a little red wine from time to time …