Beef and barley stew

Preheat oven to 325 F. Pat meat dry or it won't brown well. Season all over with salt and pepper.

In a big nonstick skillet, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of butter until hot over medium heat. Add to the skillet, you need to do this in batches, cooking for 1-2 minutes, browning on all sides. Repeat with the remaining meat. In a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven then add in the shallots and onion and fry for a further two to three minutes or until browned. At this point add some stock (¼ cup) and deglaze over medium-high heat, scraping up the bits. Return the cooked beef to the pot, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour and mix well with the other ingredients and add the rest of the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes, add the bouquet garni and the carrots. Cover and place in oven. Bake until meat is very tender, 2 - 2 ½ hours.

Heat remaining butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter is hot enough, add the mushrooms, peas, corn, green beans and potatoes. Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they begin to be tender, remove from heat.

While the meet is cooking, add the barley to the water in a medium pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain.

When the meat is tender, take out the bouquet garni and the carrots, cut them into pieces and pour in the veggies, tomato paste and barley back into the beef. Let this cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, adjust the seasoning if needed.