Spring Vegetable Beef Stew

I mentioned this provencal beef stew awhile back but I decided to feature it again and include the recipe this time.  What I love about this stew is that it uses spring veggies instead of potatoes.  Last week's CSA box just happened to have some lovely zucchini in it.  I also used carrots, bay leaves and thyme sprigs from recent CSA boxes.  So perfect!

There is a little bit of prep for this meal, but since it's a crock pot recipe you don't have to do the cooking at the busy part of the day.

Spring/Summer Vegetable Beef Stew
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs stew meat (I used grass fed roast cut into 1 inch cubes)
1 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 medium onions, cut into 8 wedges
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 fresh (or dried) bay leaves
3 fresh thyme springs
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups (1 inch) sliced zucchini
2 cups (1 inch) sliced carrots

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle beef with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper then dredge in flour.  Add beef to pan and saute 2 minutes, browning on all sides.  Place beef in crock pot.
2. Add onions and garlic to pan, saute for 5 minutes.  Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Place onion mixture in the crock pot.
3. Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme and tomatoes to the crock pot.  Top with zucchini and carrots.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until beef is tender.
4. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp salt and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper.  Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Enjoy with some freshly baked or heated bread.  I bought a lovely loaf of par-baked (partly baked) bread from Trader Joe's.  And remember if you have left-over beef stock, this is a handy way to save it for your next recipe.