Beef Stew

I think I made my most successful stew yet yesterday! This was adapted from a Joy of Cooking recipe, so I'll merge the ingredients and the directions like they do.

Trim and pat dry and cut into cube:

• 2 pounds boneless beef stew meat, I used chuck roast

Season with:

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Dredge the pieces in:

• 1/2 cup flour

Shake off excess flour. Heat up olive oil in a stew pot. Add the meat in batches and brown on all sides, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add more oil if needed during this process. Add to the pot:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 4-6 garlic gloves, chopped

Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions are tender (about 5 minutes). Add the meat back to the pot and stir. Add:

• 2 bay leaves
• fresh thyme sprig
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Add enough to cover the meat:

• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup red cooking wine

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender (1-2 hours). Add:

• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 sweet peppers, seeded and cored and cut into chunks

Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, 30-40 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs (the leaves will probably have fallen off by this point, just remove the stems). In a bowl, knead together until homogenous:

• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 Tablespoon butter

Roll the dough into little balls. Drop them one at a time into the stew and whisk until melted. This helps thicken the stew.

Serve hot with crusty bread. Enjoy!