Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

This recipe is wonderful on a cold, wintery day.

¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
1 ½ lbs stewing beef, cut into small cubes
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 cup additional beef stock
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups beef stock
5 carrots
2 stalks celery
5 potatoes

Combine flour, salt and pepper on plate. In batches, add beef to flour mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to another plate. Reserve remaining flour mixture.

In a pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat; cook beef in batches, adding more oil as needed, until beef is browned. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions, garlic, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf and remaining flour to the pot; cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until softened. Add 1 cup beef stock and tomato paste; stir while cooking and scrape up brown bits. Return the browned beef and its juices to the pot. Pour in the rest of the beef stock.

Bring to a boil, stirring until slightly thickened. Reduce the heat, and cover and simmer over medium-low heat for an hour. Stir occasionally.

In the meantime, chop carrots, celery and potato into one-inch chunks. Add to pot, cover and simmer for another hour. Remove bay leaf. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

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