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30 November 2009

GOULASH

When we first visited Vienna, we were wandering around one day around lunchtime, our heads full of Franz-Joseph and the Hollernzollern, and we ducked into a sort of pub for lunch. Inside was warm wood paneling and a limited but interesting menu. The thing that attracted me most was Goulash. I ordered it, and when it came I was transported. Imagine the best beef stew you’ve ever tasted: beef cooked till it’s falling apart, sauce rich and with just enough heat to warm you through without killing off tastebuds. No vegetables to interfere with the marriage of beef and sauce. Oh, man, was it delicious. After that I had to try all the sorts of goulash available in Vienna. There are a lot--there’s even a goulash museum! In the end, my favorite was the one I tried first, Fiacre Goulash. In Austria it’s served with a Viennese sausage and a fried egg on top. I skip that part and serve it over steamed new potatoes.


Fiacre Goulash

Recipe adapted from Austrian Specialties*


Roughly 1 Kilo / 2 pounds beef for roasting

4 medium onions

2 T olive or canola oil

2 T hot paprika

1 T vinegar

750 ml / 3 cups (approximately) beef stock

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp cumin

1 more cloves garlic, crushed

2 T tomato paste

salt, pepper


  • Cut beef into large chunks. Peel the onions and chop them -- not too large.
  • Heat oil in a large pot and saute onions slowly till they’re golden. Sprinkle with paprika, add vinegar and several tablespoons of beef stock.
  • Add cubed meat and seasonings. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, adding stock as necessary to keep it moist and covered with stock.
  • When the meat is tender, add the remaining stock, tomato paste and the last garlic clove. Simmer 10 more minutes and season to taste with salt and pepper.


Serves 4 if they like it and 10 if they don't.


Notes:

  • If you’re going to be busy, you can add all the stock at once, but you still have to stir it and the problem is that when the beef is perfectly done you may have too much liquid in there so you have to continue to cook it...
  • This is one of those dishes that improves with time. Be sure to make enough to have leftovers!


* This is a small recipe book published for tourists. It has no date of publication on it, but I bought it in 2002.


24 comments:

Bob said...

Oh man, that sounds awesome. I definitely need to try it!

Kitchen Butterfly said...

Kate...it was too late....to see Neals Yard Dairy. Next visit! Thanks for the tip though :-)

Mardi Michels said...

Oh I love goulash! Need to add this to my list of things to make over the long cold winter!

La Table De Nana said...

I love these types of meal:) I never had it in Vienna though! Lucky girl!

Zurin said...

Beef stews are so good . Ive never tried my hand at goulash but by the way you describe it I think I have to now ! :) TQ

Sasha said...

Ah, what a beautiful, beefy dish. This definitely sounds like something I'd like.

Kathy Walker said...

Oh boy...this sounds wonderful...I am getting hungry just imagining the flavors.

I will be trying this one out. Thanks,Kate, for sharing.

grace said...

hearty and filling, delicious and nutritious. also, i just love to say "goulash"... :)

Hungry Dog said...

That looks fabulous! I could eat a big bowl of it right now. And I'm with Grace--I just like to say "goulash..." :)

Carol at Serendipity said...

Kate,

Thanks for stopping by! I am going to definitely try the goulash. it sounds absolutely scrumptious. Do you think chuck would be the right cut of meat?

I love this time of year and all the decorating that goes along with it. I haven't started the cooking yet but there is still time.

Carol

Jill @ Jillicious Discoveries said...

Wow, not much has sounded good lately (being sick takes away your appetite) but this really looks appealing to me now. :)

Barbara said...

My German grandmother used to make goulash all the time. I had forgotten how much I liked it! You reminded me and now I have your recipe! I never wrote down hers. Thanks, Kate!

Pam said...

When I was in cooking school goulash was one of the dishes we learned to make. I had forgotten about it. I remember it being a cold snowy day, we stood around the kitchen in our whites and ate the goulash out of coffee cups. It was so delicious! The German Chef we had told us we could always get a job if we new how to make goulash. Thanks for the memory!

Ciao Chow Linda said...

So glad you stopped by my blog and gave me the chance to find yours. I love eating goulash when I'm in Europe but for some reason, the appeal doesn't translate here. Maybe if I had a killer recipe.... On another note, love your story re:moving to Belgium. I was glad to find you also because a couple of years ago we went to the Ardennes to see where my father fought during WWII - and look up a woman he met (and whose family he and 9 other soldiers lived with) in Neufchateau. Unfortunately, she had died, but we met up with her sisters who vividly remembered my Dad from when they were young girls during that terrible time. Would love to return and visit again - next time with my Dad

Anonymous said...

Kate, this looks stupendous!! The flavors are right up my alley!

Have you ever seen the movie Christmas in Connecticut? This recipe makes me think of the scene when Uncle Felix and Norah are in the kitchen arguing if her dinner is goulash or Irish stew ... he finally sprinkles paprika on it and exclaims, "There! Now it is goulash!" And sure enough, your recipe has paprika, as it should!

2 Stews said...

What a great cold weather food. It was 70 degrees in Boston today, but soooon, I am certain, we'll have a cold chilly day perfect for your goulash!

Thanks....Diane

Tabel20 said...

Sound tasty. Thanks once again for the recipe:) love to try soon...

Anonymous said...

This sounds good, real good. Yet I can't eat it. 4 or 5 years ago I started to get hives occasionally. Eventually I discovered I had developed an allergy to beef. Not that I ate beef all the time but I do miss it. Recently I ate some lamb and I got the same bad reaction.

WillBeDunn said...

Glad you brought goulash up.Old hat to me. My hometown was filled with Hungarians. One classmate didn't speak English until he was four years old.

connectonlineshop said...

awesome dish :)thanks

perfumeinside said...

nice blog and recomend all of u to taste the recipe post on this blog..its nice

summeronlinestore said...

wow Fiacre Goulash ...love this recipe

sweden said...

very nice blog...love this dish

Restaurang said...

very cool looking dish..i Like this blog very much