Beef in a rich wine sauce from Tuscany

This dish comes from Gascony where it is known as Le Coufidou (from Cofir, meaning “to simmer”) or La Daube Aveyronnais (Aveyron being a department in southern France).  In former times it was eaten at Christmas and Easter.

It is a delightfully rich stew that accentuates the flavour of the beef – try to use well-hung Dexter or Red Devon beef.  Unusually for South-West France it includes garlic with beef.

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 6 Hrs

Total Time: 6¼ Hrs

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

170 gms          Salt pork  - belly      

2 tbs               Dripping  - beef       

680 gms          Stewing steak  - cut into large chunks     

1                    Onion  - chopped     

4 cloves           Garlic  - chopped     

2 tbs               Flour        

1 tbs               Tomato purée         

30 cl               Wine  - red - rustic   

                     Pepper      

                     Salt          

                     Bouquet garni         

Method

Remove the skin from the pork and cut the meat into dice.  Cut the skin into strips.

Heat the dripping in a large casserole and seal the meat on all sides.  Remove it and put in the pork, the pork skin, onion and garlic.  Stir them for a minute and then add the flour and tomato purée - mixing them in.  Stir in the wine and bring to the boil - stirring continuously.  Add the seasoning, lower the heat and put back the beef.  Push the bouquet garni into the centre.  Cover with a sheet of aluminium foil under the casserole lid and bring it back up gently to the boil.  Leave to cook on the lowest possible heat for 6 hours.

Remove the bouquet before serving.

Variations

A slow-cooker would be ideal for this dish.

Wine recommendations

A robust, rustic red would be ideal.

Conventional

     Gaillac

Interesting

     Cahors

     Corbières

     Côtes de Gascogne rouge

     Madiran