Winter Comfort Foods-- Hungarian Goulash

It's only the beginning of December and already the days are windy and beyond brisk, and the nights are frigid and require the fleeciest of pajamas.  Personally, I hate winter. Hate it. It's cold, I have to wear layers and retire the flip flops. I enjoy the snow for roughly 30 minutes, which is usually just enough time to marvel at the beauty of the first snow (10 minutes- tops) and go for a ride down a snow covered hill on a plank with blades (after 20 minutes, I've gotten all the "Wee!" out of my system). The rest of the winter, I find the weather to be depressing. I'm one of those people who eats their feelings and cooks to resolve boredom and a bad attitude. You'll find me in the kitchen far more often during the winter months than any other time in the year. When I do enter one of my "let's cook and not be depressed" moods, it's usually something hearty on the menu, which was exactly the case tonight.

Who doesn't love a good beef stew? Meat, potatoes, veggies, savory sauce.. I'm not sure there's a way to go wrong here. That's essentially what goulash is.. a Hungarian version of beef stew. I try to bust out some traditional Hungarian recipes as much as I possibly can. I feel much more connected to my ancestors and heritage whenever I do. So I rifled through my recipes and found this gem. It's basically my take on a goulash recipe I came across ages ago. I made some tweaks to fit my own style, needs and cupboard contents-- I encourage you to do the same!


HUNGARIAN GOULASH

1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 lbs. stew meat, chopped into bite sized pieces
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups chopped baby carrots
2 cans diced tomatoes, partially drained
2 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
3 tbsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
6 cups of water (or more, depending on how thick or thin you'd like the broth)
assorted spices to taste (cumin, parsley, thyme, seasoned salt, paprika, pepper)

 First, you'll need to peel and chop your onion. The onion is used as a thickener for your broth, so if you enjoy onions, feel free to add more to your liking. I don't fancy a lot of onions, so I kept mine to the minimum. Grab yourself a large pot (preferably one with a cover), and toss your chopped onions in, along with your olive oil. I usually don't measure the oil, I just do a couple turns around the pot, enough to coat the onions. Begin cooking them on low heat. Add a couple teaspoons of water to the pot to help ensure they don't brown. Keep watch, because you may need to add water a couple times throughout this part of the process. We're going to cook these low and slow, for about 15 minutes, until they become glassy.

While those are cooking low and slow, you might as well begin prepping the other ingredients. Measure out your paprika and pepper, and chop your garlic cloves.

Next, go ahead and chop your stew meat into bite sized pieces. Mine came in medium sized chunks, so I cut most of the pieces in half.

 You should have just enough time to prep your veggies before your onions are done. Once the potatoes are chopped, I like to store them in water until I'm ready to use them, to keep them from drying out and getting that yucky brown look about them. We won't need these til later, but why not have them chopped and ready so you can get some other things done during the simmering periods?

Once the onions have reached perfection, remove the pot from the heat. Toss in the paprika and pepper you measured earlier, along with the garlic. Have some water on standby to add to the pot once you've added the spices, to prevent them from burning. Let's be honest, it doesn't look pretty- but it's the start of something amazing!

Next, add in your meat and mix. It's going to look a bit like a bloody mess, but fear not! Return the pot to a high heat, and cook til the meat is browned. Once it's browned, turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the meat is nearly cooked through.

After your 15 minutes are up, add your water. Remember, the amount of water you use depends on how much broth you require. If you like a saucier stew, add more water. If you like a heartier stew with less broth, add 6 cups. Now's the time to begin adding some spices to taste. At this point, I add cumin, thyme, more paprika, more pepper, and seasoned salt. I never measure at this point, I just keep adding little by little until I've achieved the flavor I'm looking for. Since you want the spices to cook into the meat, don't be stingy! Once you're all done adding your spice, cover the pot and simmer on a low heat until the meat is tender. This should take about an hour, maybe more, depending on your preference.

After the meat is tender to your liking, go ahead and add the veggies and diced tomatoes. Only drain the tomatoes slightly, as you'll want some of that juice to add to your broth. Stir it up, adding more water if needed to cover the veggies. Cover and continue to simmer on low heat (the stew should be bubbling at this point, so there's definitely no need to up the ante) for about 15 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Fork test those babies, and if the fork goes easily through, they're done! Taste the broth and add any additional spices as needed. I added parsley right at the end, along with a refresher of all the spices I used earlier, just to make sure the potatoes had enough seasoning. Nothing is more disappointing than a bland potato, am I right? Remove from heat and allow to set a few minutes before serving. Be sure to serve this with a tasty bread for dipping because that meat is going to be falling apart and simply begging to be slopped up with a fresh slice of bread. Here's the final product (after serving 3 large portions). Doesn't it look amazeballs?

Mmm... food porn...

Rave reviews from both my husband and my bestie, which, as any cook/wife knows, is the BEST praise anyone can ask for.

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe, would love to know how it turned out and if you made changes to make the recipe your own! Comments are ALWAYS appreciated. Have a blessed day!