Red Wine Beef Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoons pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
olive oil
1/2 lb cremini mushroom, quartered
2 large carrots, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (750 ml) cabernet sauvignon wine (or other full-bodied red wine)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preparation

Season the meat all over with 2 teaspoons each of the salt and pepper.
Dip the meat in the flour, then shake off any excess.
In a large Dutch oven, melt 2 T of the butter in 2 T oil over medium-high ehat until very hot.
Working in batches, brown the beef until golden all over, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined platter to drain.
Add more oil, a tablespoon at a time, as needed, if the pat starts to dry up.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil to the pan.
Stir in the mushrooms, carrots, onion, and garlic.
Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 7 minutes.
Stir in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Transfer the vegetables to the platter with the meat.
Pour the wine into the pan; simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine has reduced by half, 15-20 minutes.
Return the meat and vegetables to the pan.
Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and drop the bundle into the pan.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Immediately reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.