Beef And Carrot Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 3/4 lbs lean beef, cut into cubes
13 1/2 ounces beef stock
3/4 cup red wine
2 bay leaves
1 3/4 tablespoons flour
4 carrots, cubed
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and celery and saute for about 4 minutes; remove and set aside. Place beef cubes in pot, increase heat to medium high, and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to brown evenly. Return aromatic vegetables to pot, add beef stock, red wine, bay leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring stew to a boil, then reduce heat and cook 1 1/2 hours.
Remove cover and sift in flour (I use a wire strainer) and stir to thicken liquid. Add carrots and cook an additional 20 minutes. If making dumplings they would be added at this time.