Daube provençale

Marinate the beef. Combine the raw beef, wine, carrots, onion, garlic, thyme, bay, orange peel and salt in a non-reactive covered container and refrigerate. Allow 720 minutes. Temperature: 4 °C. Beef pieces are submerged or mostly covered and the container remains cold throughout. Marinate only at 4 °C or below and keep raw beef separate from ready-to-eat foods.

Drain and dry the beef. Lift the beef from the marinade, drain well and pat dry; strain and reserve all marinade liquid and vegetables separately. Allow 10 minutes. Beef surfaces are visibly dry enough to brown rather than steam. Treat marinade, vegetables and utensils as contaminated by raw beef until fully cooked.

Brown the beef. Heat the olive oil in a heavy 5-litre cocotte and brown the beef in portions without crowding. Use medium-high heat. Allow 12 minutes. Beef has a well-browned surface on several sides while remaining undercooked inside. Do not taste partially cooked beef.

Boil the used marinade. Bring the reserved marinade liquid and vegetables to a full boil for 5 minutes, scraping any browned residue into the liquid. Use high heat. Allow 5 minutes. Temperature: 100 °C. Marinade is at a full boil for the entire final minute and no raw-meat juices remain unheated. Never use raw marinade as a finishing sauce without this full boil.

Set up the braise. Return beef to the cocotte, add the boiled marinade and 30 g tomato paste, and arrange so liquid reaches roughly two-thirds up the meat. Allow 5 minutes. Meat is in a single deep layer and mostly surrounded, not completely drowned, by braising liquid. Use only the fully boiled marinade.

Braise gently. Cover and braise in the oven, checking once that the liquid stays at a gentle simmer and adding no extra water unless necessary to prevent scorching. Allow 160 minutes. Temperature: 150 °C. Beef is becoming tender, sauce is gently simmering, and the pot has not dried out. Use oven gloves and avoid steam when opening the lid.

Add the olives and finish. Add the 120 g drained olives and continue braising uncovered or partly covered until the beef is fork-tender and the sauce lightly coats the meat. Allow 20 minutes. Temperature: 150 °C. A fork enters the beef easily, pieces hold shape but yield readily, and sauce is glossy and lightly thickened. Wine alcohol is greatly reduced but not assumed to be zero.