Northern Italian Beef Stew

By: Melissa Baker

Ingredients:

Recipe and Image courtesy of www.AllRecipes.com

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds lean top round, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 large sweet onions, diced
• 2 cups large chunks of celery
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into large rounds
• 1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 4 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes (such as Red Bliss), cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 quart beef stock
• 2 cups tomato sauce

Directions:

1. 1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in batches in hot oil until browned completely, about 5 minutes per batch. Remove browned beef cubes to a plate lined with paper towels, keeping skillet over heat and retaining the beef drippings.
2. 2. Cook and stir onion, celery, and carrots in the retained beef drippings until just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir mushrooms and garlic into the onion mixture.
3. 3. Pour red wine into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking the mixture until the wine evaporates, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir tomatoes into the mixture.
4. 4. Return beef to skillet with potatoes, basil, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Pour beef stock and tomato sauce over the mixture. Bring the liquid to a simmer.
5. 5. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the beef is very tender and the sauce is thick, 4 to 6 hours.
6.