Provencal slow cooker beef stew

Provencal beef stew with black olives

Adapted from “The French Slow Cooker” by Michele Scicolone, a collection of tasty recipes you can check out here.

Ingredients:

4 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch chunks

Flour for dredging

4 slices of bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

½ cup dry white wine

5 peeled garlic cloves

2 medium onions, chopped

1 15-ounce can chopped tomatoes

A handful of fresh thyme sprigs

Zest of half an orange, cut in thick strips

1 bay leaf

½ cup beef broth

1 cup black olives, pitted and sliced

¼ parsley, chopped (optional)

Method:

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until browned and crisp. Transfer to slow cooker.

Pat beef dry. Season with salt and pepper and toss with flour. Brown beef in batches in the same skillet, adding oil for later batches if needed. Allow some time for this, it’s likely to take four batches worth even in your largest skillet. Transfer meat to slow cooker as it gets browned.

Add wine to skillet to deglaze the pan; add to slow cooker along with all remaining ingredients but olives and parsley. Cook for 8 to 10 hours on low. Stir in olives at the end. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Rating: I have to take Dave’s word for this one, since I left it for his supper, but he seemed enthusiastic, as he is about anything that involves bacon. I'm always on the lookout for slow cooker recipes that take up to 10 hours to cook, since I'm likely to be gone at least that long, but this isn't one you could readily pull together before work unless you do all the prep in advance and just refrigerate the insert overnight.

Followup: Just had a spoonful of the leftovers. Tender beef with a really nice orange flavor throughout, with a smoky background of bacon.