Caramelized Onions and Beef Stew

Ingredients:
3 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and chunked
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
3 yellow onions, sliced thinly
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 ½ cups red wine, Pinot Noir or Shiraz are recommended
½ cup low sodium beef or chicken broth, whichever you prefer
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions:

• Rinse beef and pat it dry
• Dust pieces with salt and pepper
• Spray a light coat of non-stick cooking spray on the inside of a large Dutch oven
• Heat pot over medium-high heat
• Drop enough beef chunks into hot pot, enough to cover the bottom with a single layer, do not stir
• Cook until you can easily pick meat up with tongs without it sticking to the bottom
• Turn each piece over and brown the other side likewise
• Transfer meat to a plate and repeat the process for the remaining meat, adding additional oil as needed
• After all the meat is cooked, add butter, onions and ¼ teaspoon salt to the pot
• Cook over medium heat until onions are tender (about three minutes), stirring often
• Reduce heat to low and dust onions with sugar
• Cook about 15 minutes until onions are golden brown, stirring occasionally
• Sprinkle flour and thyme over onions and increase heat to high
• Stir and cook for one minute
• Stir in wine and broth; bring to a boil
• Stir in tomato paste
• Pour meat and any juices on plate into soup
• Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low
• Cover and simmer 1 ½ to 2 hours until meat is tender
• Let soup stand for about 10 minutes before serving