This is a recipe I've been making for a few years now, and it's one of my favourites, especially during the winter. It's relatively easy to make, it warms you up, and is quite filling. Believe it or not, this actually started out as an adaptation of my grandmother's goulash recipe, but has gradually evolved into the recipe I'm sharing today after many years of experimentation in the kitchen.
Prep time is about fifteen minutes, cook time varies according to the meat you're using (1-2 hours). The first time I made this, I used chopped venison shanks, and they were tender after one hour. Beef requires two hours before it's tender enough to eat.
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds stew meat (I used pot roast chunks for this particular video)
4-ounce package of mushrooms, quartered (optional)
2 large shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
2 cups beef broth
red cooking wine
chili powder
turmeric
basil
oregano
cumin
Step 1: prepare stew pot or large pan with light coating of oil. Add chopped shallots and make a well for red cooking wine. Fill well with cooking wine and turn burner to med-high.
Step 2: while shallots are cooking, chop garlic and add to pot. Generally speaking, I like to cook shallots slightly longer than garlic. If you substitute red onions for shallots, the onions will have to cook for much longer before adding the garlic.
Step 3: add tomato sauce, all the seasonings (according to taste) and beef broth. You will not need salt. Chili powder has a much better tenderising effect than ordinary table salt, and also serves to enhance the flavour. Besides, tomato sauce and beef broth already contain salt.
Step 4: add meat, turn burner to low, cover, and simmer for one hour. If omitting mushrooms, then simmer for two hours and enjoy.
Step 5: wash mushrooms, cut into quarters, and add to pot. Mushrooms do not need to cook nearly as long as beef. I used "baby bella" mushrooms, which are halfway between button mushrooms and portobello mushrooms in terms of flavour. All three are actually the same species, just different ages when harvested.
Step 6: simmer for one more hour, and test the meat. It should separate easily with just a fork. If it does, turn off burner and enjoy!
This recipe can be modified, depending on what type of meat you have. For instance, if using poultry, use white or sherry cooking wine instead of red, and poultry seasoning instead of cumin. If using venison shanks, a cut that I previously used only for making sausage, toss both meat and mushrooms into the pot and simmer for one hour. Venison doesn't need to cook longer than that. You could also add chopped vegetables or potato chunks, whatever suits your fancy, as long as nothing has a particularly overpowering flavour.
If you choose to give this recipe a try, let me know how it came out for you. I'd also be happy to hear what variations, if any, you made to it.