Recipe of the Week: Goulash Soup

It’s no doubt that the goulash soup perfectly represents Hungarian gastronomy. It is famous all around the world and tourists frequently ask for it while staying in our country. It became really famous during the Age of Reform not only in Hungary, but in the neighbouring countries as well. This indulging meal originates from the Great Hungarian Plain, though has many variations.

Back in the day, the main incentive of the housewives was to make filling meals, because it had to energize the countrymen doing hard physical work. The onions, paprika, vegetables and meat make a combination of divine goodness.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg beef (mostly shank or crop)
• 2-3 big onions
• 0,5 kg of potatoes
• 3 carrots
• 2 turnips
• 1 celery
• 5-7 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 2 tablespoons of paprika
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• a bunch of parsley
• pork fat
• salt and pepper
• for the noodles: 1 large egg, 10-12 dkg-s of flour, salt

Directions:

You will need a big bowl or you can make it outside in a kettle if you fancy. Chop up the onions into small cubes and start cooking it on the fat. Cut the meet into smaller pieces (you can do this beforehand for practical reasons) while the onions cook down. Then remove the bowl from the heat, add in the paprika, the ground cumin, the lightly mashed garlic and stir it all together. Removing the bowl is important so that the paprika won’t get burnt. Now you can add in the meat and some water if needed. After the water cooked away, season the mixture with salt and pepper. Then, add in the vegetables chopped up: potatoes, carrots, turnips, tomatoes and the green pepper. Add in as much water as you need to cover everything in the bowl. From this point on you have to be patient, it takes a few hours until everything becomes soft enough. Prepare the noodles: mix together the egg, the flour and salt. When you rich the point where everything has softened, you can add in the parsley and start tearing small pieces of the noodle’s batter. Cook them for 10 more minutes and you’re ready!

Enjoy your meal!

Written by Alexandra Béni
Photo by Alexandra Béni

Source: Daily News Hungary