Goulash – National Dish of Hungary
National Dish of Hungary - Goulash
| beef (cut into 1-inch pieces) | 1 ½ lbs. | |
| yellow onions (peeled and diced) | 1 ½ lbs. | |
| sweet Hungarian paprika | ¼ cup | |
| carrots (diced) | 2 | |
| bay leaf | 1 | |
| red bell peppers (seeded and sliced into ½ inch chunks) | 2 | |
| yellow bell pepper (seeded and sliced into ½ inch chunks) | 1 | |
| tomatoes (diced) | 2 | |
| Pork lard / butter | 3 tbsps. | |
| beef broth | 5 cups | |
| salt | 1 tsp. | |
| freshly ground black pepper | ½ tsp. | |
| medium potatoes (peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks) | 2 | |
| cloves garlic (minced) | 5 |
Goulash is a Hungarian simple soup or stew made from meat and vegetables. The dish is generously seasoned with paprika. Goulash can be dated back to medieval Hungary when shepherds cooked thick stews from dried meats and fresh vegetables. Today, the dish is considered the country’s national dish.
Directions for Preparing Goulash
- Brown the beef chunks in a large pot and reserve.
- Add the lard or butter to a Dutch oven pot and heat over medium-high heat until melted.
- Sauté the onions in the melted lard or butter for about eight (0:08) minutes or until brown.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Hungarian paprika and minced garlic.
- Add the reserved beef and return the pot to the stove.
- Cook for about fifteen (0:15) minutes.
- Add the red and yellow bell pepper chunks to the pot, stir and cook for seven (0:07) minutes.
- Season the goulash with salt, black pepper, and the bay leaf.
- Pour in all of the beef broth.
- Bring to a boil, cover the pot with the lid and reduce the heat slightly.
- Simmer for forty (0:40) minutes.
- Remove the lid and add additional salt if needed.
- Serve with slices of rye bread and a dollop of sour cream.
Other dishes are chicken paprikash, foie gras made of goose liver, pörkölt stew, vadas, (game stew with vegetable gravy and dumplings), trout with almonds and salty and sweet dumplings, like túrós csusza, (dumplings with fresh quark cheese and thick sour cream). Desserts include the iconic Dobos Cake, strudels (rétes), filled with apple, cherry, poppy seed or cheese, Gundel pancake, plum dumplings (szilvás gombóc), somlói dumplings, dessert soups like chilled sour cherry soup and sweet chestnut puree, gesztenyepüré (cooked chestnuts mashed with sugar and rum and split into crumbs, topped with whipped cream).
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