Beef Stew with Carrot Flowers
By: Culinary Envy
Published: Monday, February 6, 2017 - 11:07am

Ingredients




3 pounds boneless, well-marbled beef chuck, cut into 1½ pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1½ tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon beef bouillon
2½ cups water
3 bay leafs
½ teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1½ teaspoons sugar
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into flowers (see note)
3 ribs celery, chopped
6 potatoes (baby Yukon’s), cut in half
½ lb. green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons cornstarch, if needed

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 325°F. 2 In a medium size bowl, pat beef dry and toss in olive oil. Toss in the flour, salt and pepper and combine to coat evenly. Shake off any excess flour. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, over medium-high heat, brown meat (in 3 batches) turning with tongs (do not crowd the pan), about 5-8 minutes per batch (let sear on one side before turning). Transfer meat to a large plate and set aside. 3 Add in onions, garlic and balsamic vinegar, and cook (stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape brown bits from bottom of pan) about 5 minutes. Add in tomato paste and cook a few minutes more. Add beef with any juices back into the pan. Add wine, Worcestershire, beef broth, beef bouillon, water, bay leafs, paprika, oregano, basil, thyme, and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from bottom of pan and bring to a boil. Cover pot with lid, transfer to preheated oven and braise for 2 hours. 4 Remove pot from oven and add carrots, celery, potatoes and green beans. Cover and place back in oven for 50-60 minutes more, or until vegetables are cooked and meat is very tender. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (remove bay leaves). If the gravy needs thickening, remove 1 cup of the hot liquid. Using a separate small bowl, combine ¼ cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid at a time until combined and return mixture to pot. Cook over medium heat on stovetop until bubbly and thick. Enjoy!

About

Beef Stew with Carrot Flowers is the MOST tender meat, petal carrots, potatoes and green beans simmered in RICH tomato beef broth sauce.