My daughters found this recipe, made it, and passed it on to me. I have been looking for a basic stew recipe for ages and have been disappointed each time. This one does not fall short!

Beef Stew from the Real Emily in Paris!

• 1 large onion
• 3 carrots
• A few celery branches
• Chuck steak, about 200/250g per person (about 1/2 pound)
• Olive oil (For more flavor, use half olive oil, half butter.)
• Salt & Pepper
• Other vegetables, herbs or garlic, etc. if you have them/want to. It’s a very flexible recipe.
1. Finely chop the onion and brown in some oil in either a wide saucepan or a la Creuset type casserole dish. This step always takes much longer than you think, so take your time and let it really cook through. You’re building flavor.
2. Peel the carrots and roughly chop them and the celery. You want to end up with quite large pieces as they are going to simmer for hours. (Smaller pieces will turn to mush). 
3. Add to the pan and brown, then sear the meat. (You can take the vegetables out for this step or leave them in, depending on the level of effort you feel like and the size of your pan).
4. Once everything is nice and seared, put all the ingredients back in the pan. Add 1 generous tablespoon of tomato paste and mix until meat and veggies are coated. Then add about 1/2 cup of red wine and enough water so that everything is just covered. Give a good shake of salt and pepper. Put the lid on and either simmer on low on the stove or put into an oven between 140-160C. (300-320F).
5. Leave for 2-3 hours and remove the lid for the last 20 minutes or so of cooking. Taste for salt and pepper. You can thicken the sauce if necessary with a teaspoon of cornflour (or flour) mixed into a little water, but I usually don’t find the need to. Serve with mashed potato, rice or other grain.

Note: I made this recipe with 2 pounds of beef and increased the amount of vegetables. Chuck steak shouldn’t be too lean. A little fat adds to the flavor. Large chunks of potatoes can also be added to the stew about 45 minutes before stew is finished. Not necessary to sear them.

Beef Brisket

Ingredients:

Four pounds of brisket with a fat cap. (Remove before serving, if desire.)

2-3 large onions; 2-3 cloves of garlic

2-3 large carrots, cut into chunks

2-3 Tablespoons white or red wine (no more than 1/4 cup)

Olive Oil (For more flavor, use half olive oil, half butter.)

salt, pepper, soy sauce

3-4 peeled, whole potatoes

Procedure:

Season both sides of meat generously with salt and pepper. Sear brisket on both sides in oil. Remove to a plate. Slice the onions and brown in remaining oil. Add garlic; add carrots. Sauté until a little brown. Scrape up bits and pieces then add meat back in, plus any accumulated liquid. Add wine and 1 cup of water. With a good shake of salt and pepper, cover, and bake in 300* oven for about 3 hours or until meat is quite tender when probed with a fork. Baste occasionally. Add additional salt and pepper as needed.

Note: While it was simmering, I used soy sauce to flavor the meat and the braising liquid.

About 1/2 way through, nestle whole potatoes into the braising liquid. Drizzle soy sauce over them.