Classic Beef Stew

1/2 pound of beef chuck chopped into 1 inch cubes

2T butter

1 carrot

1/2 a large onion or 1 small onion

2-3 stalks of celery

1 T flour

1/2 C red wine

1 can chopped tomatoes

2-3 small yukon gold potatoes, chopped

Beef or Chicken Stock

Salt and pepper

Fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary

In a large sauce pan add 1 T of butter and bring pan to a medium-high heat, when the pan is hot add in your cubed beef and let the beef brown on all sides, this should take 5-6 minutes.  When brown remove beef from the pan and set aside.

Chop all the onion, carrot, and celery into small bit size pieces.

In the same pan add the remaining 1 T of butter over medium heat and then add your chopped onion, carrot, and celery, season with salt and pepper and allow to cook for about 5-6 minutes, until the onion and celery are translucent.  Add the tablespoon of flour to the pan, this will act as a thickening agent, stir in the flour to fully incorporate with all the vegetables.

Add red wine and stir well for about a minute to make sure flour does not cause lumps then let it come back to a boil.  This is when the sauce will begin to thicken.

After a couple minutes add the canned tomato, chopped potato, browned beef, cracked pepper, a pinch of fresh herbs, and stock to fully cover all the ingredients, about 3-4 cups.

Cook everything at a simmer for about 45 minutes and then serve, I like this dish with some great crusty sourdough bread.