Canadian Goulash

This recipe was originally published many years ago in a Vancouver newspaper as "Granville Island Stew." Unfortunately, I don't remember which newspaper it came from, but the stew is delicious.

The key is to saute the primary ingredients before cooking to really bring out their flavours.

Ingredients

Oil for frying (vegetable or peanut oil work well)
500g beef, cut into 1" squares
4-5 medium onions, cut into wedges
500g mushrooms
Minced garlic (as much as you can take)
2 T flour
2 T tomato paste
thyme
bay leaf
salt and pepper
1 1/2 c orange juice
1 1/2 c red wine
1 can broth or consome or other strong soup mix
2 T brandy

Instructions

1. Saute garlic and onions with oil in a frying pan until brown.
2. Add meat to the frying pan and saute until the meat is brown.
3. In a bowl or blender, puree flour, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and thyme. Stir in orange juice, wine, and broth.
4. Pour the liquid mixture into a large wok or slow cooker. Add the bay leaf and sautéed ingredients from the frying pan.
5. Cover the wok or slow cooker and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours until the meat is tender.
6. While the stew simmers, saute mushrooms in the frying pan.
7. 15 minutes before the stew is finished, add the sautéed mushrooms and brandy to the mixture.
8. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Serve over broad noodles or spaetzle.