The First Recipe Tweak

This was my very first attempt at tweaking a beloved recipe to make it gluten-free.  I started really basic with substituting cornstarch for wheat flour.  It made the sauce just a slightly different texture (ever so slightly more gelatinous) and much thicker upon reheating the leftovers but aside from that wasn't noticeable (nothing a little extra broth couldn't fix). Now that I've been at this a few months and have a fully stocked gluten-free kitchen, I would instead swap my favorite gluten-free all purpose flour (Pamela's Artisan All-Purpose Flour) for the wheat flour.  Either way though, this ends up being delicious and really unnoticeably gluten-free.

Beef Stew
barely adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

1 (3-lb) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes)
3 Tbsp oil
2 onions, minced
1 Tbsp tomato paste (check that it's gluten free)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup red wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (Swanson brand is gluten free)
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
hot mashed potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Dry beef with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a oven proof casserole over medium-high heat until smoking. Brown beef in batches (as avoid overcrowding) for about 10 minutes a batch and set aside. 
2. Add remaining oil over medium heat and add onions.  Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in wine, scrapping up an browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add broth, thyme, bay leaves, and beef (with all the juices).  Bring up to a simmer then cover and place in oven to bake for 1 hour.
3. Stir in potatoes and carrots and return to oven to cook until beef is tender (about 1 more hour).
4. Remove from oven and bring to a boil on stove. Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water until smooth.  Add mixture to boiling stew and stir.  Allow to return to boil for approximately 5 minutes or until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.  Serve over a layer of hot mashed potatoes.