Hungarian Goulash

When a few months ago I visited Budapest, apart from enjoying the beautiful city, I was obviously interested in the local food. We had a chance to try a few dishes and cakes that we liked very much and that I wanted to cook myself. Goulash was one such meal.

I spent some time looking for a traditional Hungarian goulash recipe and as it often happens I found many variations. Some of them asked for ingredients I don’t use (e.g. lard for frying), some asked for lots of liquid to make it more a soup rather than a stew. So at the end I combined my knowledge and came up with the recipe below. It is based on some staple ingredients used in Hungarian goulash (paprika spices, peppers, potatoes, carrots) and staple rules (e.g. not using flour to thicken the sauce but cooking the meat for a long time so it creates gelatin). I served the goulash with bread dumplings and I was very happy with the delicious result. My husband must have even been happier: he had the leftovers for breakfast!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

2 tbsp oil for frying,

2 medium onions, thinly cut,

1 tsp smoked mild paprika,

500g beef (shin or shoulder), cut into 3cm cubes,

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced,

1.2-1.5l vegetable stock,

1 tsp caraway seeds,

3 tsp hot paprika paste (1 tsp hot paprika powder can be used instead),

1 bay leaf,

salt and pepper,

2 carrots, diced, *

1 parsnip diced, *

2 medium potatoes, diced, *

1 tbsp tomato paste,

1 pepper, cut into 2-3 cm pieces

METHOD:

1. Warm up the oil in a big frying pan; add the onions and fry on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the onions start getting brown.
2. Add the mild paprika and stir it with the onions.
3. Increase the heat, add the cubes of beef and fry stirring from time to time until the beef is slightly browned (approx. 5 minutes).
4. Add the garlic, caraway seeds, bay leaf, hot paprika paste or powder, pour in the stock, season and simmer covered on a low heat for 1.5-2 hours till the meat is tender.
5. Stir in the carrots, parsnip and potatoes, cook for approx. 30 minutes more.
6. When the vegetables are soft, add the tomato puree and peppers and bring to boil.
7. Serve with bread dumplings, pasta or mashed potatoes.

* The vegetables should be diced into pieces of approximately the same size.