Beef stew with parsnips and carrots

This was an attempt to cook all of the parsnips and carrots we've been hoarding from our veg box - we had nearly three weeks' worth on hand! On that count, it succeeded. On the tasty count, it was pretty good. The gravy/broth was nice but there wasn't enough of it. And it was a little too sweet for my tastebuds.

So... next time add more water as it cooks. And use fewer parsnips and carrots, and instead add some potatoes, and some frozen peas at the end for greenness. Might try substituting beer for wine to make it less sweet. As for all those parsnips and carrots, next time they stack up, try to make a dedicated soup for them which can handle their sweetness (I'm imagining ginger and curry spices will be needed).

Also: The meat was good but I'm not convinced we need to dust it with flour before cooking - doing away with that step might make this recipe even easier.

All our parsnips
All our carrots
4 small onions, quartered
650g stew beef
Olive oil
Butter
Thyme
Oregano
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 bottle red wine
500 ml beef stock
1 can tomatoes

Preheat oven to 160C. Sautee the onions in the olive oil and butter with the thyme and oregano. Dust the meat with the flour and add it, browning only very briefly. Add the parsnips, carrots, bay leaves, tomatoes, red wine and stock. Cook in the oven for 2 hours.