Beef Stew with Tomatoes & Herbs (Gluten-Free)

Lean Beef. Tomatoes. And Herbs. Three of my favorite things! Put them together in a savory stew loaded with hearty vegetables, and you have a nutritious and delicious meal that doesn't require a lot of effort! Yes, please!

A new client of mine is allergic to gluten and can't digest foods with wheat in them. So, I made her this stew using Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour, and she loved it! She called it "amazing!!!"

Beef Stew with Tomatoes & Herbs
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 28 ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 heart of organic celery (aprrox 8 stalks), 1/2 inch dice
1 pound organic carrots, 1/2 inch dice
2 teaspoon oregano, dried, divided
1 teaspoon thyme, dried
1 teaspoon basil, dried
1 teaspoon rosemary, fresh, finely chopped
1/2 cup parsley, fresh, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour
dash of crushed red pepper
2 1/4 pounds beef chuck tender roast (stew meat), 1 inch cubes
4 garlic cloves minced
14 ounce can beef broth

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a stock pot, combine both cans tomatoes, celery, carrots, 1 teaspoon of the oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, parsley, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large Ziploc bag, add the flour, 1 teaspoon oregano, dash of crushed red pepper and beef. Toss to coat the beef.

In a large hot skillet, add two tablespoons olive oil. Saute beef in hot oil until browned (this can be done in two batches if needed, add more olive oil). Turn pieces to brown on both sides, top and bottom. Add garlic and saute 1 more minute. Transfer the meat and garlic to a roasting pan.

Pour beef broth into skillet and deglaze pan. Pour beef broth and tomato mixture over beef in roasting pan. Cover and roast in oven for 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender.

Skim off any fat that has risen to the top.

Serve and enjoy! Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired!

Here's the stew in the roasting pan before going into the oven. Check out all that steam!

Cook's Notes: Depending on your dietary needs, make this stew with regular, unbleached, all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour. Tossing your beef in flour is important for several reasons in a stew. It helps to tenderize the beef and acts as a thickening agent for the stew. Also, seasoning your flour (like we did with oregano and crushed red pepper) gives your beef a wonderful flavor to add to the rest of the dish! Even Whole Foods doesn't carry a grass-fed, organic stew meat, but I am on the hunt for a market that does!

This is Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour. I use this brand for all of my recipes that call for flour but I want to make gluten-free (one of the colleagues that I serve at my corporate lunch catering gig on Fridays is also gluten intolerant). Remember, unless you have an intolerance to gluten, it isn't necessary for you to eat gluten-free foods. Experts say there isn’t any evidence that people who aren’t celiac sufferers benefit from eating gluten-free food. There isn’t any research to support that it’s healthier or leads to weight-loss.

Here's an article I wrote to help clear up all of those questions about gluten, called, "Do You Need to be Eating Gluten-Free?"
http://www.truebalancecooking.com/Articles/Gluten-Free.html

Hope you enjoy this savory, piping hot stew while the weather is still a bit cool!
Lindsey