classic beef stew

My latest find has been the $10 enamel coated cast iron dutch oven (mini-sized) that I found at an estate sale a couple weeks back.  Have you ever been to an estate sale in Albany?  It's no joke.  Want a crack at any of the good items, and you're lined up with 30 other people at 8am waiting for the front door to open.  Kind of sad, really.  

But you'll agree it was worth it after making this beef stew recipe.  This was adapted from an oxtail stew recipe out of an old cookbook my grandmother gave me.  Not wanting to shell out the $$ for oxtail, I bought a simple 2 lb. beef chuck (shoulder) roast and cubed it for this recipe.

Classic Beef Stew

2 lb. beef roast (chuck, round, tri-tip even), cubed

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

16 ounce can diced tomatoes

3/2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup red wine (the dryer, the better)

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon thyme, dry

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground

1/4 teaspoon red pepper powder

4 medium carrots, halved and sliced

4 medium parsnips, halved and sliced

1 cup frozen peas

Add oil to dutch oven and heat over medium high flame.  Add onions and saute until onions begin to caramelize.  Remove onions, add more oil if necessary, and add meat.  Cook meat until brown (3-4 minutes).  Add onions back in, along with tomatoes, beef broth, water, wine, salt, thyme, pepper, and sugar.  Bring to boil.

After boil, reduce to simmer on very low heat and cover for two hours.  

Skim off fat from stew and add carrots and parsnips.  Cover again and simmer for 25 minutes.  Stir in peas and cook an additional 5 minutes.