Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Season beef with 1-1⁄2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper; toss to coat. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat in Dutch oven. Brown meat on all sides in 2 batches, about 5 minutes per batch, adding remaining 1 tablespoon oil if necessary. Remove meat and set aside. Add onions to now-empty pot and cook until almost softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour; cook until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pot. Add broth, bay leaves, and thyme and bring to simmer. Add meat and return to simmer. Cover and place in oven and simmer 1 hour.
2. Remove pot from oven, add potatoes and carrots, cover, and return to oven. Simmer until meat is just tender, about 1 hour. Remove stew from oven. (At this point, stew can be cooled to room temperature, then refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring to simmer, then remove from heat before proceeding.)
3. Stir in peas and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. (Stew can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

OLD-FASHIONED BEEF STEW WITH BACON, MUSHROOMS, AND PEARL ONIONS
Instead of the frozen pearl onions, you can use an equal amount of fresh pearl onions that have been blanched, peeled, and steamed.
Before preparing beef, cook 4 slices bacon, cut into small dice, in Dutch oven until browned and crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate, reserving fat. Substitute fat for oil when browning meat. Return bacon to Dutch oven with broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Omit potatoes, carrots, and peas. Heat 2 tablespoons of reserved fat in large skillet until hot and add 1 pound white mushrooms, quartered; cook over high heat until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed, and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. When meat is almost tender, 2 to 2-1⁄2 hours, add mushrooms and pearl onions to stew. Cover and return to oven. Cook until meat and pearl onions are tender, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

OLD-FASHIONED BEEF STEW WITH TOMATOES, ORANGE ZEST, AND OLIVES
Substitute 1 cup canned diced tomatoes with their juice for 1 cup of broth. Add two 2-inch strips orange zest with broth. Substitute herbes de Provence for thyme. Omit potatoes, carrots, and peas. Stir in 1 cup pitted kalamata olives in step 3, cover stew, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

OLD-FASHIONED BEEF STEW WITH TOMATOES, CINNAMON, AND CLOVES
Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste after cooking flour. Substitute 1 cup canned diced tomatoes for 1 cup broth and add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves with broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Omit potatoes, carrots, and peas. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium skillet; add 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed, and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. When meat is almost tender, 2 to 2-1⁄2 hours, add pearl onions and 1⁄3 cup currants to stew. Cover and return to oven. Cook until meat and pearl onions are tender, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.