I’ve tried a few different version so this, one of my all time favourites, Daube Provençal. I think the best I ever had was in Bonne Maman in Régusse (Provence) which was the most unappetising looking plate of food, lumps of grey-brown meat with some carrots on the side on some pasta - but my god it was about the best thing my mouth has ever known.
Today’s version goes like this (this is half made up, and half taken from a handful of recipes I found on the net, and also influenced by what I have in the cupboard).
Dice the meat (I used steak) into bite sized chunks. I like it nice and random.
Put the meat in a bowl with a roughly chopped onion, 5 or 6 peeled cloves of garlic, some bay leaves, pepper corns, cloves, juniper berries, bunch of thyme and some rosemary (probably not authentic, but I had some left over that needed using) and salt. Then add a bottle of red wine, stir it up and stick it in the fridge. I also added a parsnip as it was going to go to waste otherwise. If I had them, I would have also added: celery, parsley and orange peel. That all goes in the fridge and marinades for a long time, long as possible (I only had a few hours).
Remove the meat from the marinade, pat dry and dust in flour. Brown it off in a pan (usually best in batches or about a handful in size at a time) with some olive oil and set it to one side.
Chop up another onion, quite coarsely, and fry that off in a pan with some lardons until they soften. No oil is needed there, plenty of fat will come out of the lardons (mmmm). I read in one recipe that you should blanche the lardons first before frying them. Don’t know why. I did it, but then I do enjoy going a bit OTT when I cook, I doubt it makes any real difference.
Peel and slice the carrots, whack them in the pan too, then add the meat. Strain the marinade and pour over the meat, top up with water or stock if necessary so the meat is almost covered. Bring slowly to boil, stir, put the lid on and either leave it on the hob to simmer for ages on a low heat, or stick it in the oven. I put mine in the oven as it is out of the way and I am less tempted to fiddle with it ever 10 minutes. Low heat, for as long as you can (4 to 5 hours).
Serve with tagliatelle or mashed potatoes.