Daube of Beef ArlÈsienne

Place the potatoes and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and boil the potatoes gently for 8 minutes.

Add the pearl onions and carrots, bring the mixture back to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce the heat to low, and boil gently for another 8 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender but still firm when pierced with the point of a sharp knife. Drain off and reserve the vegetable cooking liquid (you should have about 1 1/2 cups), and set the vegetables aside in the pan.

Heat the oil in a large, sturdy pot. When hot, add the steaks and cook them over medium to high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning them once midway through, so they are browned on both sides. Add the chopped onion, and cook it with the steaks for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then mix in the reserved vegetable-cooking liquid, white wine, salt and herbes de Provence. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to very low, and boil very gently for 1 hour. (The recipe can be prepared to this point a day in advance.)

For the ArlÈsienne Mixture: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts on a tray, and toast them for 10 minutes. Place the bread, hazelnuts, garlic, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor, and process the mixture until it is finely chopped.

At serving time, add the bread and the hazelnut mixture along with the reserved vegetables to the beef mixture in the pot. Mix well, bring the daube to a boil, and cook it gently for 5 minutes to heat it through completely. Add the capers, olives, and tomato, cook 1 additional minute, and serve immediately.