A couple of Friday nights, I took a break from school work in order to make a big pot of beef stew. I needed to retreat to some deeply comforting food and in cold weather there's nothing like beef stew (at least in my mind) to warm you up. It had been awhile since I had made it and but it's one of those recipes that always comes back to me when I have the ingredients spread out in front of me.

You can adjust this recipe to your tastes. I used about a cup of red wine to deglaze the pan when the veggies have picked up all the caramelized brown bits that come from browning the meat, but if you can use a little water instead. I always use parsnips in mine, but if you find them objectionable, feel free to leave them out. Instructions on how to make my version of beef stew are after the jump.

Beef Stew

1 pound of stew beef
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound of baby onions, peeled (if these are too much effort, feel free to replace them with a roughly chopped large onion)
3 smashed and chopped garlic cloves
3 large celery stalks, roughly chopped
3 large carrots, roughly chopped
1/2 pound of small baby bella mushrooms
2 parsnips, roughly chopped
1 large baking potato, diced
1 large can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 cup red wine
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Toss the beef cubes with the flour to coat. Heat the oil large Dutch oven over medium high heat until nearly smoking and place in the beef the pot to brown. Once you put it in, don't move it for a couple of minutes as you want to give it a chance to brown. Turn it once so that it browns on all sides and then remove to a plate. Into the empty pot, dump in the onions, garlic, celery, carrots and mushroms. Stir to combine and let cook for a couple of minutes. When things start to brown up, pour in the wine, scrapping up all the caramelized bits off the bottom of the pan. Then put in the potatoes and parsnips. Add the tomatoes, squeezing each one with your hand before adding it to break it down a little. Do not add the juice, as it makes it too tomato-y. Return beef to pot, add seasonings and stir so that everything is all combined. Put the lid on the pot and put the pot into the oven. Cook in 325 degree oven for at least 1 1/2 hours, until it smells too good to stay away.