Beef Stew

Czech cuisine is among the heartiest and easy to prepare anywhere. As an added bonus, most Czech food is easy on the wallet. Here's one of our favorite recipes for steak and peppers, prepared in the crock pot...

This is my dad's recipe; he's been preparing it for years. He got the recipe from his mother, who was of predominantly Czech heritage. The recipe itself is called Czech pepper steak, which is a little bit of a misnomer because it is really more of a stew, especially when prepared in the crock pot.

Beef Stew

We usually serve the dish over egg noodles mixed with minced onion and caraway seed, but you can serve it with anything you like. Mashed potatoes are another ideal accompaniment, and rice works well too.

Here's what you need to prepare this hearty, delicious stew:

• 2 pound tri tip roast, cut into stew size pieces of your liking
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 small garlic cloves, sliced or minced
• 1 cup canned beef stock
• 4 bell peppers cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
• 8 ounce can of tomato paste

After you've got all the ingredients together, it is a really easy dish to prepare. First, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Brown the meat and add the minced onion about half way through the browning process.

Transfer the meat and onion into a crock pot. Add the garlic, beef stock, paprika, and garlic. You can add a cup of water to the mix if it appears you will need more liquid.

Set on low and let simmer for four hours. Then, add the peppers and let simmer for another ninety minutes. We add the peppers later so they don't get soggy in the crock pot, but there's nothing wrong with adding them at the beginning if you need to be away from home.

So, the total cooking time is five and half hours. The meat will be fork tender! Serve over (or with) the side dish of your choice and enjoy!

One note about paprika. Be sure to use sweet Hungarian paprika and not Spanish. There is nothing wrong with the Spanish variety but it will impart a distinctly different taste. Hungarian paprika is sweeter and works perfectly with the peppers and stew meat.

Also, feel free to substitute different peppers for bell peppers. We like bells because they are hearty, mild, and don't overwhelm the meat. But if you like a little heat, a Hungarian wax pepper is another good choice.

Czech Cuisine - Easy to Prepare Czech Style Steak and Pepper Stew

For more Czech recipes like this one, be sure to visit our Czech-Bohemian cultural site dedicated to "Everything Czech". You'll find us at: http://www.czecheverything.com

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