Daube provencale

I tasted this over small ravioli in Nice over the holidays, but think it's good as a stand-alone dish. Served with mashed potatoes or rice maybe. The main difference with a Boeuf Bourguignon is that you let the meat marinate over night before cooking it, and it has a slightly sweet taste to it. I marinated 3 lb of beef (1.2. kg) in a mixture of 4.5 dl red wine, 1 chopped onion, 2 sliced carrots, 2 tablespoons of cognac, bay leaves, thyme, and an apple studded with cloves. Let it spend the night in the fridge, and the next day saute lardons (or cubed salt pork) in a pan, when brown, add a chopped onion and some crushed garlic. Set aside. Remove the meat from the marinade, dry it (i skipped this step, but I think it would have been better to do it) and saute it in the pan. I also removed the onion pieces from the marinade and sauted those with the meat. Pour everything (marinade minus the apple, bacon & onions, the meat) into a casserole, add 2 dl of water (enough to give the meat something to swim in) and put in the oven at 350 F / 180 C for about 2.5 - 3 hours. Ready when the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork. Make sure it doesn't dry out.