The other day me and my friend Vicki have been visiting some good friends who just had a baby girl (very quite one by the way!). I offered to cook as I realised that they might be already busy with hosting (and the baby of course). As I wanted to cook something we traditionally eat in Lithuania I decided to go with goulash. I know it may not be exactly Lithuanian (originally Hungarian), but we cook that a lot as it is so warming for the cold weather (it’s like a comfort food for me). There are soooo many versions of goulash as a soup (traditionally) or a stew with many vegetables or just with onion. But I must say that my favourite is with apples as it gives such a zest to it! Paprika stays as the vital ingredient of course but you can change traditionally used beef with turkey if you like. Here is my version of goulash. I hope you enjoy it 😉
WARMING GOULASH
- 500g beef (diced)
- olive oil
- 2 onions
- 2 carrots
- 1 red pepper (or which ever colour you prefer)
- 2 apples
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Salt, pepper
- 400ml stock (I like chicken stock)
- 150g cream fraiche (and more if you love it)
- fresh parsley
- Heat up a large pan and fry the beef (in batches) in a little oil.
- Remove and put aside fried beef and in the same pan (where the beef released its fats and juices) fry diced onions, shredded carrots, sliced pepper and chopped apple until golden brown (again, I use no oil as the beef juices should keep it from burning). Add paprika, tomato puree, pepper and salt to taste.
- Return beef pieces to pan and add the stock. Bring it to boil, reduce the heat and relax (but watch out for hungry people who keeps sneaking in and asking “Is it ready yet?”, “When is it going to be ready? and so on). This simmering goes on for at least an hour. Only when the beef is ready (means it is soft, not chewy), and the stew has thickened.
- The last bit of course is to taste it if all the flavors are combined well (add salt if needed). Then mix in cream fraiche and fresh parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Gero Apetito (or Enjoy your meal in eng.)
Rasa 🙂