Hungarian goulash recipe

There is nothing more warming and comforting than this traditional Hungarian goulash flavoured with sweet paprika. It is served in the Alps to hungry skiers and is a meal in a bowl, though it is sometimes served with dumplings too. If liked you can also puree this to make a hearty soup. Just add more stock to thin it to the desired consistency. Caraway seeds give an authentic flavour but omit them if you don’t have any.

Ingredients

• 500g stewing beef
• 2tbsp plain flour
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2tsp caraway seeds
• 3tbsp sweet paprika
• 500ml beef stock
• 400g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 400g can tomatoes

To serve:

• 6tbsps sour cream, sprigs of parsley

Method

1. Trim the beef of any fat, and cut meat into 3 cm chunks. Dust the meat with the flour and salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in large flameproof casserole and fry the beef for 10 mins until well browned. You may wish to do this in batches, don’t add too much meat to the pan at one time or it will stew rather than brown. Remove the meat from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Add the onion and caraway seeds to the pan and sauté for about 5 mins until the onion begins to soften,. Add paprika and stir for 1 min then return the meat to the pan.
4. Pour the beef stock into the pan so that it just covers the meat. Bring to boil, then cover the pan and simmer over a low heat (or in the oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.) until meat is just tender, for about 1-1 1/2 hrs.