Beef Asado

1 (4 pound) beef chuck roast, quartered

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon whole peppercorns, crushed

1 (5 ounce) jar pitted Manzanilla olives

1 onion, quartered

2 bay leaves

2 beef bouillon cubes

½ cup ketchup

1 large red bell pepper, sliced

4 small potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 tablespoon corn flour

1 teaspoon water

Season the beef with salt and pepper; set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the diced onion and garlic in the hot oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion and garlic to a 6-quart pot. Individually brown the beef chunks on all sides in the skillet and place in the pot. Add the tomatoes, crushed peppercorns, olives with their juice, quartered onion, bay leaves, and bouillon cubes to the pot; bring to a boil. Stir the ketchup into the mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour.

Remove the beef from the pot and set aside. Add the red bell pepper to the mixture and continue simmering another 30 minutes.

While the mixture continues to simmer, heat 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet. Cook the potatoes in the oil until golden brown; immediately add to the simmering mixture.

Slice the meat against the grain and add to the pot; stir. Cook together another 5 minutes before serving. If the sauce is too thin, mix the corn flour and water together and stir into the sauce to thicken.