It was an adventure learning about Goulash. I’m very new to this specific food and have learned a lot more about it now. There are 3 styles of Goulash -American, Austrian, and Hungarian. Paprika is the highlight of all Goulash; it can be very spicy or mild. Mine is the style of Hungarian, it’s not 100% authentic but it’s close. It was made by 9th-century Magyar shepherds from Hungary, at first it was just dried beef with onions cooked in a kettle, about 900 years later it evolved significantly, adding paprika (a great choice) in the 18th/19th century. Australian style is more of a stew and has twice as many onions. The American style is less expensive to make since it uses ground beef instead of a tougher meat and has more tomatoes and pasta instead of potatoes. I picked Hungarian because I wanted to use that tougher cut of meat and parsnips to lean towards a healthier soup. It’s a soup you need to be patient with, but it’s worth the wait.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 pounds stew beef cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 2 Tablespoons of sweet paprika
- 2 Tablespoons of paprika
- 2 bell peppers chopped (can use green, red, yellow, or orange)
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 6 cups of beef stock/beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 3 large potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 large parsnip peeled and diced
- 2 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 cup of half-and-half cream
- Tortilla strips (optional)
- Sour cream (optional)
- Season the meat with salt and pepper, then oil a stew pot sear the meat on all sides. Set aside
- Melt butter and cook onions on medium heat for about 5 mins or until softened.
- Turn off the heat and add all your paprika. Stir around for a minute.
- Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic, letting it become fragrant before adding the bell peppers, tomatoes, and meat.
- Sprinkle your Caraway seeds on top of the meat then add more salt pepper if needed.
- Pour 3 cups of beef stock/broth then put in bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or until the beef is tender.
- Put in carrots, potatoes, parsnips and simmer for another hour and 20 mins or until all veggies are soft.
- Add the half and half, stir, and wait 1 more minute before serving with some sour cream and tortilla strips on top.
ENJOY!!
(Serves 8)
