Along with the cooler, more autumnal-like days has come the desire to eat things that are that tiny bit heartier.  Delicious savoury dishes such as this Goulash I am sharing today.  Goulash is basically just a stew, flavoured with paprika, peppers and tomato.  We really love it in this house.  It has been a family favourite for many, many years.
 
Its really a simple stew to make. Most stews are very simple, and have been the food of the common man since time began I suspect. I once read in the old days that the same pot of stew would be kept hanging over the fire with things being added to it daily.  I am not sure how much I like that idea, but stew  . . . its an old, old thing.  Most  starts off by browning cubes of beef in some fat.  The more brown you can allow them to become, the richer will be the colour of your stew.    
Most people are in  a rush and they tend to bung too much meat into the pan to brown at any given time. Don't be in a rush, do it in batches if you must . . .  trust me, it will be worth the effort in the way and amount your beef browns.  I tend to put the meat on to brown while I am preparing the  vegetables. That way I am too busy to keep stirring it and ruining the browning process. It really has the opportunity to form a nice crust and that only adds to the richness of the stew. Trust me on this. (Note, browned, not burned, you do need to pay some attentio...