It really is easy but for years I kept adding stuff to the simple recipe to improve on it, and never ended up with that authentic Goulash taste. In my defence, I could argue that Goulash is one of those dishes that has a thousand variations in Hungary, and a few thousand more outside the country. In some places it’s a clear soup, in others a thick stew.
A few weeks ago I decided to go back to basics and follow a recipe that seemed to have all the right ingredients, and a couple of interesting new ones.
Ingredients for 4 serves:
• 1kg of chuck steak
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 spring onions (bulbs – save tails for later)
• 1 each Green &red capsicum
• 2-3 sweet chili peppers
• 3-4 field mushrooms or a bunch of Swiss Browns
• 1-2 sliced zucchinis if you want more veggies
• Olive oil and butter
• Can of crushed tomatoes
• Small tin of tomato paste
• 2 cups of beef stock
• White wine or water to suit
• Tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• 2-3 teaspoons of sweet paprika
• Sprinkle of chili flakes
• Seasoning to taste
• Teaspoon of caraway seeds
• Tablespoon of sour cream
• Fresh Parsley
Cut the chuck steak into big cubes and brown it in a big pan, sprinkle paprika and chili flakes over the top, add chopped garlic and onions (cut in half if big). Add the capsicum and chili peppers, then the crushed tomato and tomato paste and beef stock and water and / or white wine. bring it all to the boil, then transfer it to a casserole dish and put it in the oven at about 175 degrees for an hour and a bit.
Fry the mushrooms in butter for a few minutes, with the spring onion tails and zucchinis, add to the casserole dish, add more water if needed and more seasoning plus the caraway seeds and the red wine vinegar. Cook another 45 minutes. Five minutes before serving, add the chopped parsley and a dollop of sour cream.
Serve with rice or pasta.
Kim