This is one hearty beef stew. It is kinda like pot roast in a bowl. You're gonna want seconds because it's so good, but you'll be too full to eat more than one bowl.
3lbsboneless beef chuck roastcut into 1-inch chunks
2tablespoonolive oil
2teaspoonsea saltfor seasoning beef
2teaspoonground black pepperfor seasoning beef
⅓cupchickpea flourfor coating beef
2carrotsunpeeled and quartered PLUS 3 carrots, sliced into ½-inch slices
2celery ribsquartered
1medium yellow onionquartered
10garlic clovespeeled
2tablespoontomato paste
¼cupbalsamic vinegar
1 ½cupsdry red wine(can sub with additional 1 ½ cups low sodium beef broth)
1bay leaf
4whole fresh thyme sprigs
4cupslow sodium beef broth
2lbsred or yukon potatoesunpeeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
7cremini mushroomsquartered
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat oil in a large over medium-high heat. Season beef chunks with sea salt and ground black pepper. Pour flour into a shallow dish and lightly coat the beef with flour. Without crowding the meat, brown in batches, turning to brown all sides. You will have approximately 3-4 batches. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Once all meat is browned, reduce the heat to medium and add the quartered carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook approximately 10-15 minutes until well-browned, stirring occasionally.
Add tomato paste to the pot and mix to incorporate.
Add balsamic vinegar to the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Cook 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the wine, bay leaf and thyme. Simmer 5 minutes.
Return the cooked beef (and any residual juices) to the pot, along with the beef broth, and bring to a simmer. Cover and place in the oven to braise until meat is tender and falls apart with a fork, about 2 to 2 ½ hours.
Carefully remove the meat, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Set beef aside and discard the herbs. Using a stick blender, blend the remaining contents in the pot (if you don't have a stick blender, you can use a food processor or blender). This will work to thicken and flavor the stew. After blended, return the meat to the pot and bring to a boil.
Add the potatoes, carrots and mushrooms to the pot, taking care to submerge as many vegetables as possible.Add just enough additional beef broth, as needed, to submerge the contents of the stew (adding more will dilute the stew since the additional veggies will give off additional liquid) Simmer, covered, until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 40-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.