Provençal Beef With Zinfandel Recipes

BEEF PROVENCALE

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the oil to the skillet and heat just until beginning to smoke. Brown the meat all over and sear the roast, turning as each side turns a deep mahogany, about 10 minutes. While the meat browns, put the flour into a medium bowl and whisk with about 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth until smooth.
• Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; stir in their juices, 3 tablespoons of the cognac, herbes de Provence, and the 2 teaspoons salt.
• Transfer the browned meat to the slow cooker. Add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth to the skillet; let it bubble for a minute and then stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour over the meat, then scatter the garlic, carrots, fennel, and onion over and around the meat. Pour the flour mixture over. Cover the cooker, set it on HIGH, and cook for 4 hours. Set the cooker on LOW and cook until the meat is very tender, up to 2 hours more (for a total of 6 hours). Transfer the meat to a cutting board. Skim any excess fat off the top of the sauce in the cooker.
• To finish the sauce: Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon cognac, the tomato tapenade, parsley, and orange zest into the vegetables and sauce in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slice the meat and lay the slices down the center of a serving platter. Arrange the vegetables around the meat and spoon some sauce over the top. Serve with hot buttered egg noodles. Pass the remaining sauce.

BEEF DAUBE PROVENCAL

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle meat with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; brown meat in batches. Transfer beef to 4-qt. slow cooker. , Add carrot, onions, garlic and remaining salt and pepper to skillet; cook and stir until golden brown, 4-6 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan; bring to a boil. , Transfer meat mixture, tomatoes, broth and seasonings to slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low 5-7 hours or until tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve with hot cooked pasta or mashed potatoes. If desired, sprinkle with fresh thyme.

BEEF STEW PROVENCAL

Steps:

• In a 4-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 12 ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the beef, flour, salt and pepper; toss to coat. In a large skillet, brown beef in oil in batches. Transfer to slow cooker., Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beef is tender. Serve with noodles.

PROVENçAL SHORT RIBS WITH OLIVES AND HERBS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F with rack in lower third.
• Stir together flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Pat ribs dry and lightly dredge in flour mixture, knocking off excess.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown ribs in 3 batches, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer as browned to a platter. Discard fat from pot.
• Cook onions, carrots, and celery in remaining 2 tablespoons oil with 1/2 teaspoon salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add garlic and herbs and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is softened and fragrant, 2 minutes.
• Add wine and boil until reduced by half, about 8 minutes, then stir in broth, tomatoes with juice, and vinegar and bring to a simmer.
• Return ribs to pot. Cover with the lid, then place in oven, and braise until ribs are fork-tender, 3 to 3 1/4 hours.
• Transfer ribs with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Let cooking liquid stand briefly, then skim fat from top. Stir in olives. Adjust seasoning to taste, if necessary.
• Return meat to pot. Grate zest from orange over top just before serving.

PROVENçAL BEEF WITH ZINFANDEL

Steps:

• Cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Place bacon in 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Discard all but 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Cook beef in drippings in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Stir onion into beef. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Spoon into cooker.
• Stir remaining ingredients except mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, noodles and parsley into mixture in cooker.
• Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until beef is tender.
• Stir in mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and cook on low heat setting 20 to 30 minutes or until tender. Serve beef mixture over noodles; sprinkle with parsley.

SHORT RIBS PROVENçALE

Steps:

• 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300°F.
• 2. Heat the oil in a large (at least 6-quart) Dutch oven or flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Season the short ribs with the salt and pepper. In batches, without crowding, add the short ribs to the pot and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the ribs to a platter.
• 3. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot. Add the onion, chopped carrot, and celery to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, herbes de Provence, and flour and stir until the garlic gives off its aroma, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the broth, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Return the short ribs, and any juices, to the pot. Add cold water as needed to barely reach the top of the ribs and bring to a boil over high heat.
• 4. Cover tightly, transfer to the oven, and bake, stirring occasionally to change the position of the ribs, until the meat is falling-off-the-bone tender, about 2 1/2 hours. During the last 15 minutes, add the baby carrots.
• 5. Transfer the short ribs to a deep serving platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Skim off the fat from the surface of the cooking liquid, and discard the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced to a sauce consistency, about 10 minutes (the exact time depends on the size of the pot). Add the olives and cook to heat them through, about 3 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
• 6. Spoon the sauce with the carrots over the ribs, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve hot.

BEEF PROVENCAL CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 170C (340F).
• Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over high heat.
• Add onion, mushrooms and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, or until soft.
• Transfer to a large, ovenproof dish.
• Toss meat in flour.
• Heat remaining oil in frying pan and cook beef, in 2 batches, until well-browned. (Don't worry, the beef will catch on the bottom, just add a bit more oil. It will all come off when the stock and wine is added).
• Transfer to onion and mushroom mixture.
• Add tomato, wine, stock and capsicum to frying pan and bring to a gentle boil, scraping up any bits of beef stuck to the bottom of the pan.
• Add to casserole dish.
• Cover and transfer to oven to 1 1/2-3 hours. Remove lid and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until meat is tender.
• Serve by itself or with mash potatoes.

PROVENçAL BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt and pepper. Reserve 1 tablespoon flour mixture and set side.
• Lightly coat beef with larger amount of flour mixture.
• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in stockpot over medium heat until hot. Brown 1/2 of beef; remove from stockpot. Repeat with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and remaining beef. Remove beef from stockpot.
• Add onion and garlic to stockpot; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are tender.
• Add wine; increase heat to medium-high. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until browned bits attached to stockpot are dissolved.
• Stir in broth, tomatoes, herbes de Provence and reserved flour mixture.
• Return beef to stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1-1/2 hours or until beef is fork-tender.
• Add potatoes, zucchini and yellow squash to stockpot; continue simmering, covered, 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Add olives and basil; cook, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes or until olives are heated through.
• Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.