Ingredients:

2 1/2 – 3 lb chuck roast, trimmed of fat, cut the meat into 1 inch chunks.
1 onion, cut into thick slices
1 pound small button mushrooms, cleaned well, left whole, and trimmed at the stem
1 bunch young carrots, peeled and sliced
5 red potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t paprika
1/4 t ground white pepper
1 bay leaf
4-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups beef stock, low sodium, reserve 1/2 cup
1/2 cup red wine
1 T flour
2 t extra virgin olive oil

Spoon Mage™ Notes:

Not all chuck roasts are the same. If you purchased a chuck shoulder, you will need to trim the tough connective tissues between each section as well as excess fat. Leave marbling in place no matter what type of roast you purchased.

1 cup of pearl onions works very well in place of chopped onions. If the mushrooms are large, cut them into thick chunks.

Buy young slender organic carrots with the leaves attached. Usually there are five or six in a bunch. This is the perfect amount for stew. If your carrots are very large, use three carrots.

Yes, you may use ground black pepper.

A hearty red zinfandel is the perfect wine for this stew.

If your Dutch oven does not have a tight fitting lid, you may lose more liquid to evaporation. In that case, have some extra beef stock on hand to add either at the midpoint stir or when you stir in the slurry (a mixture of liquid and thickener such as flour).

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325º F

Prep all the ingredients.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, layer the ingredients in order of appearance on the list roast, onion, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, garlic, paprika, and white pepper. Toss gently.

Insert a bay leaf in the center. Lay the thyme sprigs on top and gently press into the stew.

Drizzle with stock and wine.

Cover tightly and pop into the oven for about three hours. Halfway through the cooking time, give the stew a stir. Taste the broth and adjust the seasonings. If you are a salter, you may need to add a few twists of the salt grinder to the stew.

15 minutes before the end of the cookery time, stir once more. Warm the reserved stock. Stir the flour into the stock, smashing the flour, making sure to combine well. Add this to the pan juices, stir well. Recover and finish cooking.

Remove from the oven after three hours, leave covered, and set for 15 minutes.

Lift out the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Drizzle with the olive oil, toss, and serve with delicious Buttery Baking Powder Biscuits.