Prepare onion, carrot and celery for the soffritto. Clean the vegetables and chop them finely.
Add the vegetables into a heavy bottom deep skillet along with the extra virgin olive oil. Turn on the heat to medium and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onions start to turn translucent.
In the meantime, pat the beef cubes dry with a paper towel and coat them with the flour.
When the vegetables are ready, add the meat to the pan. Stir for a couple of minutes to sear the beef on all sides.
Deglaze with wine.
When the wine is completely absorbed, cover the meat with stock and add the rest of the ingredients except the potatoes.
Cover with a lid and turn the heat to low. Then, let simmer for two hours stirring occasionally. If the stew becomes too dry, add a ladleful of water.
After two hours, cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes and add them to the stew. Cook for another 40 minutes, stirring as little as possible.
The stew is ready when the meat becomes very tender and you can almost tear it apart with a fork. At this point, the sauce should be quite thick. Turn off the heat and serve with polenta or with some good bread.