Stovetop Beef Stew

There's something mildly intimidating about taking a stab at classic recipe. I often find myself shying away from the classics as if I haven't matured enough in my culinary exploration to nail them. To put it plainly, I think they just scare me! Now that we've finally felt the chill of winter arrive here in Southern Maryland and stew meat was on sale at Food Lion (yay!), I decided the stars had aligned for me to take a stab at a tried and true American classic: beef stew. While this recipe certainly needs to be reserved for a weekend due to the length of time it needs to cook, it was actually very easy. This was well worth the wait; the meat was incredibly tender and it was warming and rich without being overbearing. There is very little flour involved, too. The stew thickens with the length of time it cooks, the starch of the turnip and potato and the richness is developed through the tomato paste. 

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds chuck roast or stew meat
1/4 cup flour (to toss meat in)
3 large ribs celery
3 large carrots
1 large turnip
5-6 small red potatoes
1 medium sweet onion
2 cloves fresh garlic
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3 oz (1/2 can) tomato paste
4 cups reduced sodium beef broth
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1.) Cut meat into small, bite-sized pieces. I marinated mine in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and seasoned salt for 3 hours prior to cutting but that is optional. Toss bite-sized pieces in 1/4 cup of flour.

Pre-thickening!

2.) Over medium-high heat, drizzle olive oil in large stock pot or dutch oven. Brown meat in batches, removing as the outside becomes nice and brown. The meat does not need to cook fully here.
3.) Once all meat is brown and removed from pan, add in diced onion and minced garlic. Cook until onions become fragrant and slightly translucent. About 5-8 minutes.
4.) Add tomato paste, 3 cups of beef broth (you want to reserve about 1 cup for when you add the vegetables later on in the recipe), and browned meat. Add thyme, rosemary, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and bring to a boil. Simmer for approximately 30-45 minutes. Stir occassionally, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Nice and thick!

5.) While meat, tomato paste, broth and onions are simmering, cut up carrots, celery, potato (skin on). Peel turnip and dice. A rough dice works well for all these.
6.) After beef and broth have simmered for atleast 45 minutes, add in vegetables and remaining 1 cup of stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour.
7.) Once stew has thickened and meat begins to fall apart with potatoes, your recipe is complete! Serve over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes!