Ingredients :

• 1 medium onion
• 6 medium potatoes
• 2 large leeks
• 8 medium carrots
• 1 pound lean beef, cubed
• 8 cups water
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 celery stalks, cut into 1' pieces
• 2 cups fresh pearl onion (about ½ pound)
• 1 cup mushrooms, quartered
• 2/3 cup tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried marjoram
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ cup fresh chives or parsley, minced

Procedure :

1. Preheat pan 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Pat beef cubes dry with paper towel, place in pan and brown on all sides, stir in onion, cook 2-3 minutes.
2. Add water, scraping browned particles of meat from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon and stirring into liquid.
3. Stir in tomato sauce and bay leaves. Cover; when it boils, reduce heat to low , and cook 1-1 ½ hours.
4. Remove bay leaves; add celery, pearl onions, mushrooms, potatoes, leeks, carrots, tomato paste, garlic, basil, marjoram, oregano, and thyme, stir. Cover; return heat to medium. When it boils, reduce heat to low and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove bay leaves, stir in minced fresh chives or parsley just before serving.

Makes 10-12 servings.