The Goulash (or simply “goulash“) is a typical dish of Hungarian cuisine that vaguely reminds us of the more familiar beef stew.
I first ate this dish in Munich during a road trip through Trentino, Austria, and Germany, needless to say, it was love at first bite.
Once back in Italy, I wanted to try and make it at home, and for the recipe, I relied on Davide Zambelli and I assure you that by following all his advice, I obtained a finger-licking good goulash.
The choice of a good cut of tender meat, which along with onions, is crucial for this amazing dish, particularly fragrant and spicy thanks to the use of herbs such as bay leaf, rosemary, and sage, and spices like sweet paprika, cumin, and black pepper.
You can decide to accompany the goulash with a good mashed potatoes, knödel, or as I did, with some plain spatzle.
Now take a minute to read the recipe and then…let’s cook and eat!!
See also
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Slow cooking
- Cuisine: Hungarian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 28 oz beef (in chunks)
- 18 oz golden onions
- 1.8 oz butter
- 0.7 oz tomato paste
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- to taste rosemary
- 1 leaf sage
- 0.7 oz flour
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- to taste salt
- 1/2 cup red wine
- to taste apple cider vinegar
- to taste black pepper (ground)
- 8 cups beef broth
- 1 clove garlic
Tools
- 1 High-sided saucepan
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Garlic press
Steps
To prepare an excellent goulash, make sure you have a good cut of meat that includes some fat, which will give more tenderness to the preparation.
Another tip for a good goulash is to take the meat out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before, to avoid thermal shock and achieve a good browning.
Before proceeding with cooking, massage the meat with fine salt to distribute it evenly over the entire surface.
At this point, heat a layer of oil in a high-sided saucepan and start browning the meat. If the meat is too much for the size of the saucepan, proceed to brown it in two batches. This way, you will get a better seal on the meat, which will retain all its juices inside.
When the meat is perfectly browned, remove it from the saucepan and set it aside with any cooking juices. Clean the saucepan (by washing it or wiping it with paper towels) and melt the butter inside along with two tablespoons of oil and add the onions cut into thin slices.
Let the onions stew for a few minutes, then add a clove of minced garlic, the salt, which will help soften the onions, the pepper, the tomato paste, and a bay leaf. Stir occasionally.
While the onions are cooking, in a frying pan, toast the flour along with the sweet paprika and cumin for a few minutes over low heat. This way, the spices will release a more intense aroma, giving the entire preparation a more robust flavor. Stir to prevent burning.
When the onions are sufficiently softened, add the meat to the pot, the mix of toasted flour and spices, and deglaze with wine and vinegar.
When the alcoholic part of the wine has evaporated, add the boiling broth to just cover the meat and add a sage leaf and some finely chopped rosemary needles.Stir to combine everything, cover with a lid, and let cook on low heat for about 2 and a half hours, stirring occasionally.
Once cooked, adjust the salt if necessary and let the goulash rest for an hour before consuming it; this way, the meat will be infused with the flavors of the onion and spice sauce.
Quickly reheat it before serving it with a side of your choice from those suggested above 😉.
