Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

If you are in need of a hearty, tasty and nutritious meal this recipe is for you! I know this Old-Fashioned Beef Stew recipe from one of my cookbooks and one of the reasons I make it quite often is that it uses basic ingredients found in every home. Also, the red wine adds a rich and tasty flavour to the stew.

Time: 120 min, Prep: 45 min. Cook: 75 min.
Servings: 5-6

Ingredients:

30 g all-purpose flour
salt (1 tsp) and pepper (1 /2 tsp)
750 g stewing beef, cut into 3 cm cubes
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 big onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
250 ml red wine
3 Tbsp tomato paste
750 ml beef stock (or water)
3 carrots
2 stalks celery
4 medium-sized potatoes
375 g green beans (I used canned beans but fresh beans are good too)
2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Directions:

Combine flour, salt and pepper and toss beef to coat with flour mixture. Set aside remaining flour mixture.

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat and cook beef in batches, until browned all over. Transfer beef to a plate and reduce heat to medium-low.

Add finely chopped onion and garlic, dried thyme, bay leaf and remaining flour to the pan. Cook stirring for 4 minutes.

Add wine and tomato paste and cook stirring continuously for 2-3 more minutes. Return beef to the pan and pour in the beef stock (you might have to move everything to a bigger pot, as I did).

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, cut carrots, celery and potatoes into bite-sized chunks (~ 4 cm lengths) .

Add vegetables, cover and simmer for 30 more minutes. Add more stock if necessary since vegetables need to be covered.

Cut green beans into 4-5 cm lengths and add them to the pot. If you use canned beans, you only need to simmer for 5 more minutes; otherwise, simmer for 20-25 more minutes until the beans are tender. Lastly, stir in parsley and if needed, adjust with salt and pepper to taste.