Delightful goulash! Hungary’s national dish that goes as far back as the 9th century. If you translate the name of the dish (Gulyás) to English it literally means shepherd or herdsmen. It is said that when the shepherd was to leave home they prepared a pot of meat. They cooked meat and spices together with onions in an iron pot over an open fire until all the liquid was gone. Then the dish was kept in different ways until it was time to be enjoyed. All they had to do was boil water and add it to the meat, an easy way to warm the pot quickly and have a hearty meal. The dish has changed over time and is made in many different ways today, it is usually served as a soup in restaurants today, some include potatoes in the stew. Paprika (Hungarian) was included in the dish in the 18th century. The recipe below is my interpretation of this wonderful dish.
About 15 years ago I was at a fairly common restaurant in Norrtälje (Stockholm/Sweden) and ordered Goulash. It was incredibly good. I asked the owner if he could give me the recipe. I was told that I had to mix meat with as much onion and some tablespoons of smoked paprika. That’s all I got to know!
A week after my visit to the restaurant, I made the dish and have developed the recipe to fit our household. Making goulash is all about to produce a lot of flavor without it being too strong. My goulash is really tasty according to our guests. But! I make it with turkey meat, you can, of course, replace it with plain beef, just remember that the cooking time can differ since it takes longer time for the beef to get tender! Whatever you choose, this recipe will become a favorite!
3 servings
440 grams of turkey breast fillet or plain beef
440 grams of vertically sliced onions
1.5 teaspoons of salt
2 ml of black pepper
2 tablespoons of paprika powder (preferably smoked)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 of a teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 of a teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon of onion powder
0.5 teaspoon marjoram
0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
2 pcs. bay leaf
2 garlic cloves (grated)
1 big tablespoon of tomato puree
1 pc Knorr Fond De Chef (concentrated broth) vegetarian or beef. You can also use ordinary broth.
5 dl water (just to cover meat and onion mixture)
Butter and oil for frying
1 – Peel the onion and cut it into vertical slices.
2 – Cut the meat or turkey into smaller pieces.
3 – Grate the garlic and set aside.
4 – Measure spices, water, etc.
5 – Melt some butter and oil in a pan and fry the onion for 5 – 7 minutes until transparent.
6 – Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes.
7 – Add the meat and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
8 – Add the bay leaf and seasoning, mix well.
9 – Add water and tomato purée. The water has to barely cover the meat and the onion mixture.
10 – Let the stew simmer on medium for 30 minutes with the lid on.
11 – Remove the lid and simmer the stew on low heat for 30 minutes.
Serve with rice and Smetana!
Enjoy!
