© JACQUES & COMPANY 2009

Penne Pasta with Eggplant • Red Beans and Rice • Chicken Breasts Provençal • Creole Gumbo • Creole Jambalaya • Daube Provençale • Jacques' Meatloaf • Rack of Lamb Dijon • Maggy's Belgian Beef Stew • Jacques' Rillettes

Makes 6 servings

3 pounds beef stew meat*, 1" X 1" cut

¼ pound bacon, ½ " X ½ " dice

2 cups fresh onion, ½ " X ½ " dice

1 tablespoon fresh garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 bottle red wine

1 cup water

½ pound fresh mushrooms, quartered

1 bouquet garni

1 tablespoon beef base

In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Add the olive oil to the bacon drippings and brown the meat on all sides. Add the onions, garlic and cook until they become translucent. Add the tomato paste and stir the mixture.

Sprinkle the flour and stir until well blended. Add the red wine, reserved bacon, bouquet garni, beef base and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and place the daube in a 300° oven for 2 hours.

Add the mushrooms to the daube and simmer in the oven for an additional 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and skim any fat floating on top, taste for any more salt and pepper. Serve with au gratin potato or your favorite pasta.

*Ask your butcher for a chuck and/or shank cut of meat for a more succulent and moist daube stew.

Wine suggestion: A full body Syrah.