Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg / 2.4lb chuck beef (, cut into 3.5 cm / 1.5" cubes (Note 1))
• 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt ((halve for table salt, +50% for flakes))
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil (, divided)
• 1 large onion (, halved then cut into 1 cm / 2/5" slices)
• 4 garlic cloves (, minced)
• 3 carrots (, cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces on the diagonal)
• 2 celery stalks (, cut into 2.5 cm / 1" pieces)
• 1/3 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour
• 3 cups beef broth / stock (, salt reduced)
• 2 cups red wine (, bold and dry (Cab Sauv, Burgundy, Merlot) (Note 2))
• 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves (, fresh or dried)
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 400 g / 14 oz baby potatoes (, halved)
• More salt and pepper (, if required)
• Mashed potato
• 1 tsp finely chopped parsley (, optional garnish)
• Crusty bread (, for bowl mopping and dunking)

Steps

1. 1

   Season then brown beef, remove from pot. Sauté onion and garlic, then stir in carrot and celery. Stir in flour, then broth, wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire. Stir. Add beef, herbs and potato, stir. Slow cook 1 hour 45 min with lid on then 30 min lid off. Serve over mash.

2. 2

   Season beef - Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper.

3. 3

   Brown beef - Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy based casserole pot over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add 1/3 of the beef and brown aggressively all over - about 4 minutes. Remove to bowl, repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if required (if you don't use enough oil, the beef will just burn rather than brown).

4. 4

   Sauté - Turn down heat to medium high. Add 1 tbsp oil if required. Add onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes until onion is softened slightly and golden on the edge. Add carrot and celery, stir for 1 minute to coat in flavours.

5. 5

   Make sauce - Sprinkle flour evenly across surface, then stir to coat (the flour will thicken the sauce). Add broth, red wine, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to dissolve tomato paste and flour into liquid.

6. 6

   Add browned beef (including any juices), thyme, bay leaf and potato. Stir. Liquid level should almost fully cover everything (see video), if not, add a touch of water.

7. 7

   Slow cook 1 hr 45 min covered - Bring to simmer, then adjust heat to low / medium low so it's simmering very gently. (Note 3 for other cooking methods) Cover and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes or until beef is pretty tender (check with 2 forks at 1.5 hrs).

8. 8

   Simmer uncovered 30 minutes - Remove lid and simmer for further 30 minutes or until sauce reduces slightly. It should be like a thin gravy (see video) and beef should now be very tender.

9. 9

   Check seasoning - Taste the sauce and add more salt if required.

10. 10

    Serve over creamy mashed potato with a sprig of fresh thyme for decoration or a sprinkle of parsley (Note 4).