Turkish Beef Stew

I remember this as comfort food since I was very little. A real staple in our family. Yes, I know there's a lot of olive oil in it :) You may certainly decrease the amount if you wish. Serve with lots of nice long grain white rice or crusty bread to catch the juices.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 1⁄2-3  lbs stewing beef
• 1  large onion, chopped
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 1 (19 ounce) can tomatoes with juice
•  salt and black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon allspice (optional but good)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon thyme
• 1⁄4 teaspoon oregano
• 2  bay leaves

Directions

1. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper to taste and allspice.
2. Brown in batches in a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil at a time, with the onions and garlic.
3. Place in a 5 litre Dutch oven, add tomatoes. If you're using whole tomatoes rather than diced, break them up a bit with a spoon. Sprinkle with thyme and oregano, add bay leaves. You can add more salt and pepper to taste.
4. Bring to a boil, then decrease heat, cover and simmer for about 3 hours or till the beef is fork tender.
5. If sauce gets too thick, you can add some water. If it gets too thin, bring to a boil and reduce, but do not add any flour.
6. Note: my Dad used to do this in a pressure cooker all the time to save time, you can certainly do this but make sure you have enough liquid (I would probably add another can of tomatoes) and pressure cook for about 25 minutes.