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Slow Cooker Beef Stew in a Goulash Style

• 1 ½ pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes


• ½ cup all-purpose flour


• 1 tablespoon salt


• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning


• 1 teaspoon black pepper


• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• ½ large onion, sliced thin into long strips


• 1 large carrot, sliced thinly on the bias


• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly into long strips


• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt


• 1 tablespoon paprika


• ½ tablespoon dried oregano


• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper


• 2 tablespoons tomato paste


• 2 tablspoons ketchup


• 1 cup low sodium beef broth


• 1 cup organic cranberry pomegranate juice blend


• 1 cup dry red wine


• ½ medium green cabbage, cleaned, cored, and cut into long thin strips


• creme fraiche

Combine broth and fruit juice in a medium slow cooker set on high.

Combine flour, salt, pepper, and Old Bay in a 1-gallon plastic zip-top bag. Shake well to mix. Add the beef and shake well to coat. Remove beef, shaking off excess flour.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat until almost smoking. Add beef in batches, so that the pieces don’t touch each other. Saute until well-browned on all sides. Repeat until all beef is seared. Drain beef pieces briefly on paper towels. Add beef to slow cooker.

In the same skillet, add a dash more olive oil and reheat pan. When nearly smoking, add onion, bell pepper, and carrot. Add salt. Cook until veggies are lightly browned on edges and starting to soften. Add garlic, paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste and ketchup. Cook one minute. Add red wine to pan, bring to a boil and cook 1 minute while using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the skillet surface. Pour mixture into slow cooker.

Cook on high two hours. Reduce heat to low. Cook an additional 4-6 hours, depending on how tender you want the beef.

At the half way point, add cabbage.

About 20 minutes before serving, spoon out about ½ cup of the broth into a small bowl. Stir in about ¼ cup of creme fraiche. Mix well and pour back into slow cooker.

Serve with egg noodles. Top with a dollop of creme fraiche.

If the sauce is too soupy for your taste, you can thicken it with a little cornstrach or arrowroot dissolved in cold water.

You could serve a lot of wines successfully with this meal. A big, full-bodied white would work provided it’s not too buttery or oaky. A light-bodied, acidic red wine would provide an interesting contrast. My preference, however, would be a medium-bodied dry red from some of the classic Bordeaux varieties. Braised beef, bell pepper, and spices suggest a Cabernet or Merlot to my palate. Hence, a Cab Franc-based meritage blend was my choice. It worked well.