Bográcsgulyás (Goulash)

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Literally 'Kettle goulash', this is a traditional Hungarian recipe. Contrary to popular belief, goulash is a soup and not a stew. An alternative recipe is Gulyás leves.

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons lard
• 1.1 kg stewing steak, cubed
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed with a few caraway seeds and a little salt
• 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
• 2.8 litres warm beef stock
• ½ a tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 green peppers, cut into rings
• 500 g potatoes, diced

Method

1. Pre-heat the lard to a low temperature in large pan.
2. Add the onions, and stew until glossy, but not brown.
3. Add the beef cubes and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the heat, add the garlic mixture and the paprika and stir.
5. Once the paprika has stewed for 20 seconds or so, add the warm beef stock. Do not allow the paprika to over cook or it will taste bitter.
6. Return to the heat, cover and stew, still at a low temperature, for about an hour.
7. Add the tomatoes and peppers and simmer slowly for a further 30 minutes, adding to water, to maintain a soup-like consistency if necessary.
8. Finally, add the potatoes and cook until they are done.

Serving suggestions

Serve with small dumplings, which should be added a few minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Variations

If you want a spicier version, you can add whole chilli peppers to the pot with the stock and remove them before serving.

Chef's notes

Get Hungarian paprika if you can. If not, use ordinary plain, unsmoked Spanish paprika, which is available in supermarkets and ethnic shops.

--JuliaBalbilla 09:40, 24 March 2009 (UTC)