Recipe ideas

Direction

Beef casserole is a winter dish, to be enjoyed by the fire warming the home, and happily accompanied by a robust red wine. Of course traditionally, the meat should marinate. In that case, let it sit 12 hours in its marinade of onions, carrots, garlic, thyme and laurel, all of which topped with a heady red wine.

But if time is running short, a faster but equally promising recipe is available: a trick passed down from grandmother, who claimed she let the beef marinate but, unbeknownst to the rest of us, did no such thing. Chop up the meat and prepare the mushrooms (we recommend using dried porcini or other type of mushroom) by soaking them in warm water for 15 minutes. In a casserole dish, brown the thinly-sliced onions in a little oil, along with the garlic and chopped herbs. Add the meat and turn down the heat to a gentle simmer for about 1 hour, making sure that the meat does not stick to the bottom of the dish. Add the mushrooms and a little water. Reduce. Add red wine and top up with warm water so the liquid covers the meat. Leave uncovered for a bit, to let the smell of the wine disperse, then season and cover. Cook very slowly, for about 2 hours. The people of Provence add orange zest while cooking: our special regional touch. Serve the casserole nice and hot, with tagliatelle or other fresh pasta, prepared al dente and sprinkled with parmesan.

A stand-by of winter cuisine, since the casserole simmers for hours on the fire for a deep, concentrated sauce! The wine that accompanies it should not be a push-over: it needs to be solid and robust, with a concentration that will not be put to shame in the face of the sauce’s concentration.