Hungarian Goulash

Never Made Hungarian Goulash?
Perhaps you should.

This is my family’s adaptation of a British recipe that my mother acquired while living in Scotland in the 1960s. The recipe starts out by saying, “Rather too highly flavoured for most young children.” I take it in those days using paprika was pushing the taste sensation envelope of most children. I also love that my mother’s old notes say, “2 stalks of celery, if available!” My mother tells me that in the winter you’d go to the grocery store in Edinburgh and there would be an assortment of two vegetables available for your purchasing pleasure, and it often did not include celery. Good grief, hard to imagine a world where the availability of celery was in question!

Hungarian Goulash (5-6 servings)

• 2 pounds tri-tip steak
• 2 tablespoons flour seasoned with salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 medium sized onions, quartered
• 3 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 20 ounces vegetable or beef stock
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch of caraway seeds
• 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt or sour cream
• 1 can (or jar) roasted red bell pepper cut into strips

Prepped veggies, ready to brown. As you can see, I bought baby carrots rather than peeling and slicing whole carrots.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cut the steak into cubes and roll it in the seasoned flour. Fry the steak in the olive oil over medium high heat turning it to brown evenly.

Cubes of tri-tip browning in the pan.

When the meat is browned remove it from the pan and set it aside. Lightly brown the onions in the same pan. Stir in the paprika and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes. Add the stock and the wine and bring to a boil. Put the meat, carrots, celery, caraway seeds, and the bay leaf into an ovenproof casserole and cover it with the liquid.

Goulash ready to be popped in the oven.

Cover the pot and cook the Goulash at 325 for 2 hours.

Check the Goulash and add salt and pepper to taste. Place in a serving dish. Spoon the yogurt or sour cream right in the middle (if desired) and scatter the roasted red bell pepper strips over the top. This dish can easily be made a few hours ahead, or a full day ahead and reheated at serving time. We serve Goulash over wide flat noodles, or you could serve it over toasted country bread.