Beef Stew with Winter Vegetables

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Winter is a time to cook slow-food like casseroles or stews. At the local Coles supermarket, there was a stand with different recipe cards "Feed your family for under $10" with recipes by celebrity chef Curtis Stone.

I picked the "Beef Stew with Winter Vegetables" recipe card on the weekend and tried it out today.

1 tbsp olive oil
700gm chuck beef, cut into large bite-sized cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 brown onions, each cut into 8 pieces
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cups beef stock
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into pieces
rosemary leaves
thyme leaves

1. Heat oil in large heavy casserole pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and place into pot. Cook beef until brown. Remove and place into a bowl. (If there are too many pieces of beef and pot is small, then cook the meat in two batches).
2. Add onions, garlic, rosemary and thyme to the pot and cook for 3 minutes. Add the wine and tomatoes. Simmer for 8 minutes or until the wine has been reduced to about half. Return the beef to the pot.
3. Add the stock and bring to a gentle simmer (beef should be covered with the liquid). Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the potatoes and carrots and cover. Simmer gently for another 55 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked and the beef is tender enough to cut with a spoon. The liquid in the pot should be reduced by now. (We like to have some gravy with rice, so I kept some stock for that).
5. Serve with rice, crusty bread or mashed pumpkin.