Hungarian Beef Goulash Stew

Goulash is a spicy, rich and delicious Hungarian stew that is flavoured predominantly with Paprika. This dish has existed since the middle ages and is now popular all over central Europe. It can be made as a soup or a stew with this version being the latter. The slow cooking process creates melt in your mouth beef and the sauce has an incredible flavour. Aside from the lenghty cooking time, this is a really easy dish to master. It goes really well with mashed potato or Spaetzle noodles if you are feeling adventurous!

Ingredients

3 medium onions, finely chopped

1kg beef, cut into cubes

4 bacon rashers, finely chopped

6 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

2 Red Peppers, cored and finely chopped

2 tablespoons rapeseed oil

25g Butter

2 tablespoons tomato purée

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 tins chopped tomatoes

500ml beef stock

Handful of chives or parsley, chopped for garnish

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

Serves: 6 - 8 people (if served with a side)

Instructions

1. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper to the beef to season

2. Heat the oven to 180c

3. Add one tablespoon of oil to a large heavy bottomed casserole dish (with a lid) and heat on a high heat

4. Brown the beef in 3 batches, removing from the pan when browned. Add another splash of oil when you remove each batch. Don't throw all of the beef in together as it will steam rather than char and the flavour of the final product won't be so good

5. When all of the beef is browned, add the second tablespoon of oil to the pan along with the diced bacon, fry until starting to brown

6. Add the onions and butter to the bacon and fry, stirring regularly, until starting to brown (about 10 minutes)

7. Add the red pepper and garlic and fry for a further 5 minutes, stirring regularly

8. Stir in the tomato purée, the sweet and smoked paprika and stir well, then fry for another couple of minutes

9. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock and give a good stir

10. Place in the centre of the pre-heated oven and cook for 3 hours, taking out of the oven every 15 minutes to give it a stir and make sure it is not sticking. If it does start to stick then add a little water and stir through. The meat needs 3 hours for it to get to the point where it is melt in the mouth tender

11. Garnish with the chopped herbs, serve with mashed potato and enjoy!

The beef browning

The bacon frying, yum!

The onions browning

The red peppers added

The stew ready for the oven!

The finished product