Provençale daube-style pot roast beef
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Provençale daube-style pot roast beef
A traditional daube is a chunky casserole; we’ve taken the flavours and created an all-in-one pot roast, with spring veg in a rich sauce
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
677Kcal
Fat
29gr
Carbs
30gr
Sugars
15gr
Fibre
8gr
Protein
64gr
Salt
2.8gr
Debbie Major
Cook, writer and food stylist, Debbie's reputation for foolproof, delicious recipes is second to none. She is renowned for her dedication to seasonal home cooking and her love of all things rustic and authentic. Simplicity over cheffy is her motto!
See more of Debbie Major’s recipes
Debbie Major
Cook, writer and food stylist, Debbie's reputation for foolproof, delicious recipes is second to none. She is renowned for her dedication to seasonal home cooking and her love of all things rustic and authentic. Simplicity over cheffy is her motto!
See more of Debbie Major’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1.5kg rolled silverside or topside of beef
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- about 225g unsmoked bacon lardons or pancetta
- 350g baby new potatoes, scrubbed
- 2 fat celery sticks, cut into 5cm pieces on the diagonal
- 1 x 400g bunch small carrots, scraped and trimmed
- 5 fat garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 200ml red wine
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 600ml rich beef stock
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- the leaves from 2 large thyme sprigs, plus extra to serve
- 2 anchovy fillets, chopped
- 1 orange, scrubbed
To finish
- 20g unsalted butter
- 2 large onions, halved and sliced
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 40g plain flour
- 200g fine green beans, trimmed
- 100g small black olives, pitted
Step by step
- Heat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Season the joint of beef all over with salt and pepper. Heat a flameproof casserole dish in which the beef will fit quite snugly (the meat will shrink in size as it cooks, leaving room for the vegetables later), over a medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and brown the beef all over. Remove to a plate then brown the lardons, and add these to the plate too when golden.
- Add another tablespoon of oil, the potatoes, celery and carrots to the casserole and fry, turning regularly, until golden, adding the sliced garlic towards the end. Lift out to a bowl.
- Pour the wine into the casserole and boil for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, thyme and anchovies. Remove some of the zest from the orange and keep to garnish, then pare the rest off using a veg peeler. Add to the casserole and bring to a simmer. Add the lardons and beef to the casserole, cover tightly with foil and a well-fitting lid and oven cook for 1 hour.
- Uncover the casserole and turn the beef over. Scatter the browned veg around the joint, re-cover and cook for another hour.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter and remaining tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Add the onions and sugar and cook, stirring regularly, over a medium heat for 20-30 minutes until they are soft and richly caramelised. Stir in the flour; set aside.
- When the beef is cooked it will be tender and starting to fall apart at the edges. Lift onto a platter or carving board, snip and remove the bindings. Lift the carrots, potatoes and celery alongside, cover and keep warm. Remove and discard the herbs and the zest strips from the sauce.
- Return the casserole to a medium heat and bring the liquid back to a simmer. Add the green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Now add the onion mixture and olives and simmer, stirring gently, for 5-6 minutes to make a thick gravy. Slice the beef and serve with the vegetables, and the gravy spooned over. Scatter with fresh thyme and the reserved orange zest to serve.
