Seriously. This one borrows heavily from Damn Delicious' slow cooker method and tips its hat to kitchn's advice on searing the beef.
ingredients
______________________________________________2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
3 pounds stew meat (beef chuck), cut into 1-inch cubes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, cut into 1/2"(ish) thick cubes(ish)
6 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2" thick slices
3 stalks celery, cut diagonally into 1/2" thick slices
small bag frozen green peas
1 medium/large white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (more is always okay)
4c beef broth
6 oz tomato paste
3T Worcestershire sauce plus more, to taste
1t dried thyme
1t dried rosemary
1t smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup all purpose flour
red wine, optional, for delglazing
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, optional, for serving
prep
In a medium sized shallow bowl, roll beef in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper.
Add olive oil to a large preheated frying pan, followed by a single layer of prepared cubed meat. (This step may be done in batches in order to prevent overcrowding. A friendly deglazing swish of a decent red wine between batches is a great move- just be sure to scrape those tasty crusty bits right onto the growing pile of seared meat.) Let cook over medium/medium-high heat for five minutes before turning. As meat browns, add garlic and half the white onion. Continue to cook until the meat is evenly seared on all sides.
In a large pot, over medium heat, add beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, paprika, bay leaves and vegetables* until well combined. Stir in beef, garlic and onions and season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.Or, you know, more Worcestershire.
Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
May be garnished with parsley and served with crusty bread or egg noodles.
*add them ALL now, add them all at the hour point, or add half now/half then- it simply depends on your crisp-to-mush veggie texture preference.
