Simple beef stew

Long day today and needed to cook something for Wendywoo's dad as well as us after a hospital visit to her mum so a simple beef stew.  Started it earlier today and left it in the oven while we were out.

Three onions peeled and quartered slung into a good sized oven proof pan with a glug of olive oil.  I added two fairly finely diced celery sticks and two large carrots sliced.  Stirred every few minutes over a lowish heat until all started to soften.  Whilst doing this chopped three cloves of garlic (don't worry, Arthur...I left the garlic out of your bit!) and added them as well as two tablespoons of tomato puree and about a teaspoon and a half of dried oregano.

Whilst all this was cooking I poured about four tablespoons of plain flour into a freezer bag and seasoned with sea salt and ground black pepper.  In batches I coated, about two handfulls at a time, one kilo of diced braising steak by bunging it in the bag and giving it a good shake.  Each batch I browned in a large frying pan with a bit of vegetable oil added.  Once browned I added it to the vegetables and stirred in.  Coat....by bunging in bag...shake...brown....stir in...until all the meat was done.  All the gloopy bits in the pan were dealt with by whacking the heat up and adding a glassful of red wine...a good stir to collect and melt down all the loose bits of meat, flour and excess brown bits and all added to the pan.

The covered pan was brought to almost a boil and then placed in a 150* oven for nearly three hours.  I took it out and gave it a stir every half hour or so and an hour before finishing I added four large sliced chestnut mushrooms.

All this was served in a bowl (to catch all the juices and so you can be lazy enough to eat it with a fork...or even a spoon) with a good pile of cheesy, mustardy mash...a bit of a firm favourite as you may well by now have gathered.

No pic as I'm knackered after the 5.30am Millie incident.  Enjoy!