Classic English Beef Stew

This recipe evolved from my mum's classic stew and I'm sure it was passed down from my Grandma and Nana. It always makes me think of my Nana when I eat this.


Classic English Beef Stew

Ingredients:
2 lbs stewing beef
salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 onions chopped/sliced
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup red wine
2 bay leaves
5-6 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp dried herbes de provence
3-4 cups beef stock (or water)
1/3 cup barley (optional)
4 potatoes cubed
3 carrots sliced/chopped (on a bias)
2 stalks celery chopped (on a bias)
1 large parsnip chopped (on a bias)
1 medium turnip cubed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Dry the stewing beef with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a heavy bottomed pot/dutch oven heat 1 tbsp of oil on high heat. In batches sear the beef and set browned meat to the side (be sure to keep the juices).
3. Once the beef is browned immediately add the onions to the hot pot. Season them with a pinch of salt (this will draw the moisture out). Saute for a minute, then add the garlic and herbes de provence and saute a minute more.
4. Deglaze the pot with red wine, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to get all the brown bits of the bottom.
5. Add the beef back into the pot, making sure to put all the juices in. Cover everything with stock and add the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
6. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes then add the barley. Simmer for an additional hour. If not adding barley, simply simmer for 1.5 hours.
7. After 1.5 hours add all the vegetables. If needed, add more water/stock so everything is covered. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes.
9. Add the frozen peas and corn and allow to heat through, about 5 minutes.
10. If you didn't add the barley, you may need to thicken the stew with a slurry. In a seperate bowl mix 1/4 water with 1-2 tbsp of cornstarch. Add to the stew and let it cook for a few minutes.

Serve with crusty bread (and butter!). Enjoy!

Tips: 
-If you don't have fresh thyme, simply substitute 1.5tsp dried thyme leaves when you are sauteing the garlic and onions.
-I cook my turnip ahead of time and add it at the end and allow it to reheat. Turnip can be unpredictable, although most of the time it takes about an hour to an hour and a half. One Thanksgiving though the turnips still wasn't cooked after 3 hours! So I'd definitely recommend cooking it through ahead of time and adding the turnip and some of the turnip cooking water to the stew at the end and allowing it to heat through.
-the type of red win doesn't matter, but make sure it's something you would drink in a glass. If you wouldn't drink with it, why would you cook with it?