Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Spray a 2.5 quart baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside.
Cut the stew meat into bite size pieces if needed.
Place the beef, carrots, onion, garlic, celery, tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, salt, sugar, paprika, cumin, and olive oil in a large bowl. Stir well to coat the meat in the seasoned tomato sauce. Add this mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Tuck the bay leaf into the stew. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours or until the beef is tender and the liquid has slightly thickened. Stir the stew every half hour or so.
When the meat has cooked, remove the stew from the oven and find and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the frozen peas. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the peas to thaw and warm through.
Serve over mashed potatoes, garnished with fresh parsley.