Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pat the cubed beef completely dry with paper towels and season generously on all sides with salt and black pepper.

Drop half of the beef cubes into the hot oil in a single layer, ensuring they do not crowd the pan. Sear undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes until a deep, dark golden-brown crust locks onto the bottom surfaces, flip to color the remaining sides for another 2 minutes, then transfer the meat to a clean plate and repeat the process with the remaining beef.

Reduce the burner to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the empty pot along with the diced onion, carrots, and celery. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sauté for 5 minutes, using a wooden spoon to aggressively scrape up all the savory, dark caramelized beef bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Push the vegetables to the outer edges to clear a small circle in the center of the pan, drop in the minced garlic and the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and stir them together against the hot metal for 90 seconds. Frying the paste directly against the pan cooks out its sharp, raw metallic edge and caramelizes the natural sugars, shifting the paste to a deep rust color that provides an ultra-savory umami foundation.

Pour the beef broth, the can of diced tomatoes with their juice, the seared beef cubes, any collected plate juices, the dried thyme, Italian seasoning, and the bay leaf straight into the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, then immediately drop the heat to low, clamp a tight lid over the top, and let it simmer gently for 60 minutes until the beef fibers begin to turn tender.

Lift the lid, drop the cubed Yukon Gold potatoes directly into the bubbling broth, re-cover, and continue to simmer on low for an additional 20 minutes. Staging the dense root vegetables at this point ensures the potato starches can slowly hydrate and soften to the core without breaking down completely into a muddy mash.

Stir the frozen green beans and sweet corn kernels straight into the soup matrix during the final 8 minutes of cooking, leaving the lid off so the quick-cooking vegetables heat through perfectly while retaining their crisp texture and bright colors.

Turn off the flame, fish out and discard the bay leaf, and season the rich broth with additional salt and black pepper to taste before ladling into deep bowls.