Irish Beef Stew

1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat
6 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
I cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of fine red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper

1 Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt the beef pieces. Working in batches if necessary, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over. Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2 While the meat and stock is simmering, in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden(using a little cooking spray , about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.
3 Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user -NAMASTE-.