Beef and Mushroom Stew

Ingredients:

1 pound stewing beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pieces bacon, sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound mixed mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine*
3 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
3 parsnips, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup pearl onion, peeled (optional)
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a large Dutch oven or oven-proof pot on medium-high heat, warm the olive oil.
Add sliced bacon and cook until crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the pot, transfer to a plate and set aside.
Season the beef with a generous pinch of salt and pepper on all sides. In batches, transfer the beef to the pot and brown the meat on all sides, about 5 minutes. Once browned, remove from the pot, transfer to the plate with the bacon and set aside.
In the same pot, add the onion and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Add mushrooms, garlic and thyme and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms halve roughly reduce in size by half.
Add red wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot and simmer for about 5 minutes. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to help scrape up anything stuck to the bottom.
Return beef and bacon to the pot and stir well to combine with the vegetable mixture. Add flour and tomato paste and stir well to coat the beef.
Cover mixture with beef broth, add parsnips, pearl onions, and bay leaf, and stir well to combine.
Bring to a gentle boil, turn off the heat, cover, and transfer to the oven for 1.5 to 2 hours or until beef is tender.
Once cooked, remove the pot from the oven, remove bay leaf and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. This will help to thicken the sauce and bring the flavours together.
Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

I await your comments! Enjoy!