Boef Poivron en Daube

Here is a French classic taught to me by my French cousin as she prepared this dish for us many years ago in their summer home in southwestern France.

A Daube is a French name for a Dutch oven and a general classification for stews made in a Dutch oven. This one is sweeter by caramelized peppers and kicked up a bit with Moroccan harissa paste.

The flavorful sauce is best mopped up with egg noodles or a good bread such as homemade oatmeal wheat bread, for example.

3.5-4 lb chuck beef, cut into 1x3-inch pieces

1/2 yellow sweet onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 leek, cleaned and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary and thyme

1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 quart beef broth

2 Tbsp harissa paste (I used Cavo, fresh - Wholefoods)

1 red pepper cut into 1-inch pieces

1 yellow pepper cut into 1-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown the beef well in a dash of olive oil in a large oven-going Dutch oven. Cook the beef in at least 3 batches, to be sure there is plenty of air space in between each piece. Season with salt and pepper as you brown. Set beef aside in a bowl when browned.

Sauté the onion and carrot in a dash of olive oil in the Dutch oven. Cook until the veggies have softened and browned a bit, about 5-8 minutes.

Add the leek to the oven along with 2 tablespoons of water. Cook until the water evaporates, and then slowly let the leek sauté a bit in the oil. Adding water followed by a slow sauté is Jacque Pepin’s ingenuous approach to slightly caramelizing leeks without burning them - they are quite delicate. Add the garlic and herbs and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Now add the tomatoes, broth and harissa paste to the Dutch oven.

Bring to a gentle boil, stirring often. Return the beef to the Dutch oven and return to a gentle boil. The beef should just be peeking up through the liquids - if there is not enough liquid to cover, add a dash more water.

Cover the pot and place in the oven. Bake for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours until beef is tender throughout.

Meanwhile sauté the peppers in a skillet in a dash of olive oil. I cook over fairly high heat to slightly brown and caramelize the peppers, about 5-8 minutes. Add the peppers to the stew after the stew has cooked about 45 minutes in the oven, stirring to incorporate them well.

Cover the stew and continue cooking in the oven until done.

If desired, cook egg noodles according to package directions. Serve over egg noodles, garnished with some fresh parsley.

Serves 6-8.

Cook's Note: You do not have to cook this stew in the oven, if you only have stove-top pots. Just be sure to stir often to avoid scorching - oven cooking is so much more even that stovetop, which is a real help for slow, long cooking like this.

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