Hungarian Goulash

I made a swing through Eastern and Central Europe in 1996, mainly the Czech Republic, but I also touched on Austria and Hungary, and I have to say I loved them all, but particularly the latter.  Hungary was fascinating.  I spent a few days in Budapest, a beautiful, exotic city with wonderful people and some amazing food.  It was here that I discovered the spice that I've had an affinity for ever since---Paprika.

Yes, paprika--it seems it is the national spice of Hungary.  Most restaurants had a paprika shaker on the table, in addition to salt and pepper, and I found I liked its slightly sweet, slightly piquant flavor (although there are some intensely hot varieties as well) and the way it brightened up a dish with its intense red color.

So, if you want to try a dish in which paprika really sings as the key ingredient, you could do no better than whipping up the national dish of Hungary:  Goulash.  It's basically a beef and vegetable stew, although I have been served some pretty soupy versions here in The States.  However, what I got in Budapest was thick, almost more like beef chunks with a rich sauce than a soup or stew, and I've decided this is how I like it.  My recipe will pursue this version, with a little bit of retro flair as I sourced some of it from one of my retro cook books, pictured below.

I also discovered that you can get paprika in lots of different forms in Hungary, so we will layer and texture the flavor of our Goulash with different types of paprika.  More on that to come.

Hungarian Goulash.  

2 Lbs Stewing Beef, Cubed
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
1 Large Onion, Diced
1/4 Cup Flour, Sifted
3/4 Cup White Wine
1/4 Cup Sweet Paprika
4 Cups Beef Broth
1/4 Cup Smoked Paprika
1 Tablespoons Univer Goulash Cream, Hot
1 Tablespoon Sweet Anne Paprika Paste
1 Teaspoon Strong Steven Paprika Paste
1 Teaspoon Red Gold Paprika Cream, Hot (Optional, for hotter Goulash)
2 Potatoes, Peeled and Cubed
3-4 Carrots, Sliced
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Egg Noodles


Cube your beef.

Here I'm using eye of round, but bottom round or even chuck will work fine.  Tougher cuts that stand up to long stewing times are what you want here.

Heat the cooking oil in a large stew pot or Dutch oven, then add the beef when the oil is hot:

Brown the beef and then reserve.

Dice your onion and add it to the oil and beef drippings.  Sauté the onion until it begins to turn clear and brown slightly.

Sift the flour over the onion

and cook for a minute or two.  Add the white wine

and simmer until reduced by half   Add the sweet paprika:

And then let everything simmer for a minute or two.  Admire the beautiful color of this most Hungarian of spices:

Add the beef broth.

Bring to a boil, then add the beef cubes back to the mix.

Reduce to a simmer and then add the smoked paprika.

Adding this and the other paprikas after the broth addition will help to preserve some of their more delicate flavors, particularly the smoked paprika that will make your flavor reminiscent of Goulash cooked in a bogrács, or traditional cooking cauldron, over an open fire.

Speaking of our other paprikas:  Did I say I'm a fan?  When I was in Budapest, I was doing a bit of souvenir shopping and I came across a jar that looked like this:

When I asked the proprietor what it was, he said in broken English, 'to put in soup.'  Well, that didn't really tell me what it was, but it was good enough for me.  I bought some and brought it home.  It was a like a nice, wonderful, creamy hot paste

that did indeed go well in soups, but also lots of other things.  When I finally ran out, I took to the internet (still in its infancy back then) and found Otto's Hungarian Deli, where I found I could order this stuff and lots of other goodies.  They're still around, and I don't think they've updated the website since the 90s, but its a great place to get some of the pastes and creams in this recipe.

Well, as you can see by the photo below, I keep quite a bit of paprika pastes and creams in stock in my larder.

Yes, I know it seems redundant, but each of these has a slightly different flavor and level or heat, and using a little bit of each of them give this goulash multiple layers of flavor.  If you really want to make some goulash with a wow factor, try to get your hands on at least some of this stuff.  If not Ottos, then I've also seen some of the Univer products at Central Market.

Add your hot and sweet pastes

And then the Goulash Cream.

This stuff in particular has a nice, unique blend of flavors that really make the goulash.

Let this simmer for an hour or so, then add the potatoes

And the carrots

Then Cover:

And let that go another hour

At this point the meat should be nice and tender, and the goulash should have thickened up nicely.  If it's still too liquid-y, mid a little cornstarch with warm water and add it to the goulash.  It will then thicken up nicely.

Here we've served the goulash over some basic egg noodles.

You sometimes see it with elbow macaroni mixed in instead, but that just looks a little too 'Hamburger Helper-ish' to me.


Until next time,


Egészségére (I believe that's Hungarian for "Cheers")


Chris

Carbonade of Beef

This rich beef stew is a traditional Belgian dish that you'll find on the hob at most decent pubs around Brussels and similar towns.  It's a great complement to the hundreds of different Belgian beers one is wont to imbibe when traveling through Europe's unofficial capitol.  Yes, Belgium is a beer mecca even more than Germany or the Czech Republic.  I've been to some pubs in Belgium offering in excess of 700 distinct beers.

With so much liquid refreshment to try, you'll probably want to put a little something on your stomach.  This dish works quite well, particularly since its made with some of said beer.


Carbonade of Beef

1-2 Pounds Beef, Cubed (Chuck or Round)
1/4 Cup Flour
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 Large Onion, Diced
4-5 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Bottle Dark Beer (Belgian Style Oud Bruin or Flanders Red, if possible)
2 Cups Beef Stock
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
A Few Sprigs Thyme
Bay Leaf


Use a nice quality piece of beef.  I'm using eye of round today as it is nice and lean yet still pretty flavorful.  Cube it up,

Then toss the cubes of beef in flour.  Melt the butter in a good-sized Dutch oven and sauté the beef cubes until nicely browned.

Reserve the beef

and add the diced onion to the butter/beef drippings in the pot and cook until translucent and somewhat caramelized, perhaps fifteen minutes or so over medium heat.

Add garlic about five minutes before the onions are done.

When the onions are perfect, add the beer

and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen browned bits.  As I mentioned above, this beef stew should really have a proper Belgian beer like an oud bruin or Flanders Red to make it authentic.  Today I was fresh out of Belgian beer, so I subbed the next best dark beer I could find, a Guinness.

This is okay, but really, don't be like me and instead plan ahead and find a decent liquor store and get a proper Belgian beer.

Anyhoo, add the beef stock and brown sugar.

Return the beef to the pot.

Next, add the vinegar.

Yes, I know I called for Red Wine vinegar in the ingredients list, but I was fresh out of that too, so I subbed Balsamic.  I'm really bastardizing this today, eh?

Add the fresh thyme and bay leaf.

Cover the pot with its lid and place in a 350˚F oven and let it cook away for at least an hour and half, two if possible.  Check the pot from time to time to make sure there is still some liquid in it.  Add more beef stock if it is running low.  Remove the bay leaf and thyme when dish is finished.

Serve this dish simply, with some good crusty bread or maybe some butter noodles, as we've done here.

And don't forget that beer to wash it down with!

Until next time,

Cheers!

Chris