May

Goulash

Hungary

Ingredients for the goulash:

(For 4 persons)

 

1 kg (2,2 lbs) beef sausage or shoulder

1 kg (2,2 lbs) white onions

2-4 tbsp. paprika powder sweet or rose paprika

1-2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 can (250 g / 0,5 lbs) chopped tomatoes

400 ml (13 oz) red wine

500 ml (16 oz) beef broth

3-4 star anise

3-4 bay leaves

3 colorful bell peppers

3-4 garlic cloves

125 g (0,27 lbs) butter

1-2 tbsp. black pepper

3-4 tbsp. whole caraway seeds

1 organic lemon

salt

marjoram

 

Cut the beef into approx. 4 x 4 cm (1,5” x 1,5”) cubes.

 

Roughly chop the onions. Fry in a large pot over medium heat for approx. 5 – 10 minutes until they are good brown and most of the juice has boiled away.

 

Add the meat and season everything with about 1 tbsp. of salt and then stir.

 

Add the paprika powder and tomato paste stir well and deglaze with red wine and beef broth. Add a can with chopped tomatoes to the pot.

 

Mix all the ingredients together. Add the star anise and the bay leaves. These are not for eating and must be removed before serving!

 

Let the goulash simmer at medium heat at about 150 °C with the pot open and the oven preheated for about 2 hours. Stir several times and if necessary add some more broth.

 

Cut the bell peppers into small pieces and add them to the goulash after 2 hours. Let it simmer for another 30 minutes. The goulash is ready when the beef can be mashed or divided with a fork without completely fibring.

 

Meanwhile, prepare the goulash seasoning. For this, briefly roast about 3 tbsp. of caraway seeds in a pot. Then melt 1/2 slice of butter in the pot and let it get brown.

Grind the caraway seeds using a mortar, grind 3 – 4 cloves of garlic and mix with the melted butter, 1 tbsp. of paprika powder, 1 tbsp. of black pepper and a small slice of cold butter. Add the rubbed off shell of one organic lemon and the juice of half a lemon. It should all turn into a thick spice paste.

 

Only when the goulash is cooked all the way, the spice paste is to be stirred in little by little and tasted again and again until it becomes a perfect Hungarian Goulash. At the very end, add a pinch of marjoram to the goulash, stir well again and if necessary, season with salt. Now enjoy!

 

Ingredients for Spaetzle:

8 eggs

400 g (0,8 lbs) flour (type 405)

1 tbsp. salt

1 bunch parsley

 

 

Put the flour in a bowl. Mix eggs and salt using a kitchen aid.  Mix until the dough bubbles and flows slowly and tenaciously from the spoon without tearing. Boil salted water in a large pot. Now pass the dough in portions through the spaetzli scraper.

 

Jó étvágyat!

 

PS: Very often sour pickles and cream cheese are served with the Goulash.