Daube de boeuf avec pommes de terres.

This very popular Mauritian dish originated from the classic Daube de Provence in France which was accompanied of his 5 herbs: savory,fennel,basil,thyme and lavender. French settlers in Mauritius brought this very delicious dish with them. Over time this has been adapted for use almost exclusively over time, through in Provence this dish is also served on occasions with rice, noodles and mashed potatoes. This dish steeped in traditions. Variations also call for olives, prunes, and flavoring with duck fat, vinegar, brandy, lavender, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, juniper berries, or orange peel. For best flavor, it is cooked in several stages, and cooled for a day after each stage to allow the flavors to meld together. In the Camargue and Béarn area of France, bulls killed in bullfighting festivals are often used for daube. 


The recipe of Daube de boeuf avec pommes de terres:


This Mauritian version has the potatoes cooked with the beef. It is prepared as per the original recipe in that the cubed beef is allowed to marinate in dry sherry, crushed garlic, chopped parsley and finely chopped onions. The Mauritian touch is that the sauce is enriched with finely crushed tomatoes and the red wine added during the later stages. The beef cubes are also partly precooked with crushed garlic and finely chopped onions. The cubed potatoes are added to the simmering sauce just before the beef is thoroughly cooked in, so that the cubed potatoes are thoroughly cooked with the beef cubes.In Mauritius, this dish is cooked in the normal casserole whereby in Provence, it is traditionally cooked in a special pot called a daubière.