Brush a 12" non stick skillet with 1/2 teaspoon of the oil. Heat the oil until it is hot and add half the meat in a single layer. Cook the meat over high heat, turning it as it browns, for 5 minutes, until it is browned on all sides.

Using tongs, transfer the meat to a Dutch oven or cocotte (an earthenware casserole with a tight-fitting lid). Add 1/2 cup of the water to the drippings in the pan. Swirl the water in the skillet and pour it into a small bowl.

Brush the skillet with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil, brown the remainder of the meat and add it to the Dutch oven or cocotte. Swirl the remaining 1/2 cup of water in the skillet to deglaze it and add the liquid to the bowl.

Sprinkle the flour over the meat and mix well. Add the wine, stock, shopped onions, leeks, salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved liquid from the bowl and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and boil gently for 30 minutes.

Add the pearl onions and mushrooms and continue cooking the stew, covered over low heat for 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and olives, bring the mixture to a boil and set the stew aside, covered, for 5-10 minutes.

Serve, dividing the meat and vegetables among 6 plates.

lean cuts that are moist because they are gelatinous. I like my stew meat cut into large (2" to 3") cubes, making one or two pieces of meat sufficient per serving. Since most packages stew meat from the supermarket is cut into smaller pieces, you may want to start with a whole piece of meat and either cut and trim it yourself or ask your butcher to do this for you. the stew is flavored with Shiitake mushrooms and, as the work nicoise implies, tomatoes and olives. Domestic mushrooms can be substituted for the shiitakes if you want to contain costs a little." Jacques Pepin

Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by Sharon <jouet@mindspring.com> on