Bovine in France are beef meat cattle, grass fed with no special pedigree.  It’s many times on sale and is good tasting, cheaper than the pedigree beef and not extraordinarily tough.  It reminds me of our beef before industrialization of cattle raising.

This stew beef cooks and is ready in about an hour and when the vegetables are added for 30 minutes, you have a thick, rich, old school beef stew.  My husband loved it 🙂

Beef Stew

1 1/2 lbs stew beef, seasoned with salt and pepper and dust with flour

Olive oil

1 large onion, cut into eighths

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 celery branches, chaos cut

Bouquet garni

2 celery leaf tops

Water or beef broth

Salt and pepper

4 carrots, chaos cut

10 baby potatoes, quartered

Brown the beef in batches in olive oil, removing as browned and setting aside

Add the onion, garlic and celery to the large pot/skillet and saute until the vegetables are soft, scrapping the bottom of the pot to loosen the browned flour residue.

Add the bouquet garni, celery leaves to the pot, along with the browned beef.  Salt and pepper to taste, add water/broth to cover about 1 inch above ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.  Add the potatoes and carrots, continuing to simmer for 30 minutes.  Discard the celery leaves and bouquet garni.  Eat with baguette to sop up the gravy.