Pot au Feu: A Classic Provençal Recipe
Traditionally, the stew is served in 2 services. Meat and vegetables first, then the broth and the bread.
Ingredients
- 300 g (10 oz) beef brisket
- 300 g (10 oz) chuck steak
- 300 g (10 oz) thick beef ribs
- 6 bone marrow about 7 cm or 3 inches long
- 2 leeks
- 6 carrots
- 3 big potatoes
- 3 big turnips
- 1 small cabbage
- 2 sticks celery
- a few stems parsley
- bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme...)*
- 2 onions
- 1 small garlic head
- 10 black peppercorns
- 6 cloves
- salt
Garnishes for serving:
- cornichons (pickles)
- mustard
- fleur de sel
Instructions
- Cut one of the onions in half; don’t peel. In a nonstick frying pan, ”burn” the onion. (The colour needs to be dark, like charcoal. This won’t give flavour, but it will give a dark colour to your broth.)
- In a very large, heavy-bottom casserole, add the meat (not the bone marrow), the burned onion, the other onion cut in half and poked with the cloves, the garlic head cut in half, bouquet garni, parsley, celery, black peppercorns, salt, and cover with water. Start the cooking. As soon as it starts boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and skim any foam that is floating.
- Cook for 3 hours.
- In the meantime, peel carrots, turnips, potatoes and reserve. Clean the leeks under cold water, strain and dry them.
- After 3 hours of cooking, add all the vegetables (except the potatoes) and cook for 30 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and the bone marrow, cook for 30 more minutes and let rest in the saucepan for 1 hour before serving.
- Serve with pickles, fleur de sel, Dijon mustard, and a fresh, crusty bread.
Notes
*According to Wikipedia, There is no generic recipe for bouquet garni, but most French recipes include thyme, bay leaf and parsley.
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