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1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
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2
Into the largest saucepan or casserole you have that will go into the oven, pour 3 tablespoons of the oil. Brown the meat in batches over high heat and remove to a plate nearby. Pour the remaining oil or add more, add the onions, sprinkling a little salt over them and cook then until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, celery, thyme, and oregano. When the smell of garlic wafts up, remove half the mixture. Add the meat to the mixture in the pan, cover with the remaining half, add the bay leaves, carrots, tomatoes, stock and wine. Bring to a boil, remove scum, and let bubble for 3 min. Then cover, transfer to the oven, and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or cook on a very low heat. The meat should be tender and yielding. Remove the carrots and bay leaves, too, if you want. Season, to taste, with the salt and pepper.
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3
Let the stew cool and keep it in the refrigerator until you want it. Take it out of the refrigerator a good 1 to 2 hours before you cook it again. Skim the fat off the top. Make sure the stew is piping hot. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. When it boils, add the salt and then pasta. Cook this until it's nearly but not quite cooked; it should have a couple of minutes still to go.
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4
Then drain the pasta and add it quickly to the bubbling juices in the casserole, making sure first that there are enough bubbling juices. You don't want the meat to be drowned, but you want enough for the pasta to be covered. The pasta will absorb some of the liquid as it finishes cooking, of course.
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5
In a couple of minutes, the pasta should be cooked. Crumble some feta and put in a bowl with the chopped parsley, oregano, or basil. Stir to combine and then leave the spoon with it, so that people can sprinkle the herb-spiked cheese over the stew as they wish. Ladle the stew into shallow soup bowls.
