Best beef stew recipe

My best beef stew recipe really lives up to its name. Full of healthy ingredients, it's a hearty meal for cold winter nights. As a child I didn’t much care for stew. It was fatty and contained vegetables that I really didn’t like…turnip comes to mind. Fortunately as I got older my tastes changed and now I love turnip (rutabaga is a good substitute in my best beef stew recipe.) I also trim my beef very, very well before it hits the pot so there are no unpleasant surprises.

Despite the long list of ingredients, preparation doesn’t take too much time. But to really enjoy this meal, you must allow enough cooking time for the beef to become tender. I love it when it just falls apart in my mouth. Yum.

You’ll need:

-3 lbs well trimmed, lean stewing beef, or outside round steak, cut into 2-inch cubes

-2 tbsp olive oil

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-2 large cooking onions, quartered

-2 tbsp flour

-2 ½ cups stock, beef or vegetable

-½ cup full-bodied red wine or dark beer

-1 can (19 oz) tomatoes with juices

-4 carrots, chopped

-2 stalks celery, chopped

-1 cup coarsely chopped turnip

-1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

-1 tsp tamari

-½ tsp each dried basil, thyme, parsley

-4 medium potatoes, quartered and then halved (8 pieces from each potato)

-freshly ground black pepper

In a large heavy pot, brown the beef in oil. Add garlic and onion and cook until the onions have softened. Sprinkle flour over all, stirring, until the flour browns.

Add stock, wine, tomatoes, carrots, celery, turnip, Worcestershire sauce, tamari and seasonings. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for about 2 hours, or longer, until beef is tender.

Add potatoes, cooking until tender, about another hour. Season with pepper to taste.

Serves 6-8 with crusty rolls.

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