Beef Stew with Red Wine

For day #13 of Soup Month, we have a Beef Stew served inside a circle of creamy mashed potatoes.  Instead of including the potatoes in the stew, where the potatoes sometimes tend to get a little mushy, we decided to serve them mashed and the results were yummy.  It was a nice twist to a classic dish.

1  2-lb  Boneless Beef Chuck Roast, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 TB  Flour
1 tsp  Kosher Salt
1 tsp  Paprika
1/2 tsp  Black Pepper
2 TB  Canola Oil
3/4 cup  Red Wine  (a Cabernet works great)
24 oz  Beef Stock
1/2 tsp  Dried Thyme
1  Bay Leaf
1/2 tsp  Kosher Salt
4 oz  Mushrooms  (about 6-8 mushrooms, halved, portobello mushrooms are delicious in this dish)
6  Carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 TB  Flour
1/4 tsp  Salt
Prepared Mashed Potatoes

To prepare beef:  Use a paper towel to pat the meat dry.  In a small bowl, combine 3 TB flour, salt, paprika and pepper.  Toss beef with flour mixture to evenly coat.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, cook beef in batches in oil over medium-high heat, stirring often 4-6 minutes or until browned.  Remove meat to a plate.  To the soup pot add wine, sitrring to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Return beef to pan;  add beef broth, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

After cooking for the hour, add halved mushrooms and carrots to stew, cover and cook 60 - 90 minutes longer until the meat is fork tender.  (Cooking for the 90 minutes will get the most tender results.)

Whisk together 1 TB flour and 1/4 tsp salt then add 1 cup of hot broth to the flour mixture.  Whisk until completely smooth, then blend mixture into the stew.  Cook stew 20 minutes longer, stirring often, until stew is thickened. 

Place a scoop of mashed potatoes in the center of a soup bowl and make a hole in the center of the potatoes.  Add a generous scoop of stew to the center of the potatoes and serve.  Serves 6-8.