Jamaican Style Beef Stew

Maybe a little thick, I may forego the corn starch in the future.

I love beef stew. The problem is when my mother-in-law makes it, it's more like a soup. Different ideals of what a stew is I suppose.

As a result, it's been a while since I made my beef stew recipe. The only thing I forgot last time was the tomato! Whoops. It's okay. Still turned out well.

Also, this is important. I used a cast iron pot to make this stew.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds of beef, cut into 1 inch cubes
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3-4 onions
• 2-3 carrots
• 3-4 potatoes
• 1-2 tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of green peas
•  2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup black rum
• ~4 cups of water
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon corn starch, for thickening.

 Yield: 4-6 servings

Directions:

1. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil.
2. Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add beef to pan and cook until well browned on a few sides
4. OPTIONAL: You can also mix in your onions in this step. Caramelized them, but don't burn them.
5. Transfer beef to cast iron pot.
6. Using 2 cups of water, pour into the frying pan to make a quick beef broth.
7. Pour quick beef broth into the cast iron pot.
8. Combine all ingredients. Depending on how big your vegetables are, you may need less or more water. Just have enough water to reach the top of your vegetables.
9. Set the stove top to medium heat (6 on my stove), cook until steam comes out of the pot.
10. Adjust the stove top to low heat (2 on my stove), cook for another 2 1/2 hours.
11. When stew is done, discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
12. If the stew requires more thickening, cook on stove top uncovered until desired thickness.