Today we will prepare a real Hungarian beef goulash – an incredibly tasty “miracle of cooking” that will conquer your heart and stomach. The consistency of the dish resembles something between a thick meat soup and our traditional hot soup. The taste of goulash is simply incomparable and very rich, with a pleasant aroma of vegetables and spices.
Ingredients for making beef goulash:
Meat and other:
- Steamed beef (tenderloin) – 600 grams
- Lard – 40 grams
- Clean water – as much as you need
Vegetables:
- Onions – 100 grams (1 piece)
- Carrot – 200 grams
- Tomatoes – 150 grams
- Potatoes – 500 grams
- Sweet pepper (red) – 1 piece
- Garlic – 4 cloves
Spices:
- Sea salt – 1 teaspoon
- Ground black pepper – half a teaspoon
- Paprika – 4 teaspoons
Inventory:
- Knife – 2 pieces
- Cutting board – 2 pieces
- Bowl – 2 pieces
- Deep plate – 5 pieces
- Plate
- Frying pan
- Kitchen spatula
- Kettle
- A deep pan with a thick bottom and a lid (capacity 3 liters)
- Ladle
Preparation of beef goulash:
Step 1: prepare the ingredients.
Rinse the beef tenderloin under cold running water and dry it with paper kitchen towels. We put the meat on a cutting board and clean it from the film, cartilage, veins, as well as small bones that could have remained on the beef after cutting the carcass. Then cut the tenderloin into large cubes across the grain. We transfer the cut into a bowl.
Now peel the onion and garlic. Cut a thin layer of skin from carrots and potatoes. Cut off the stalks from the sweet pepper and gut it from the seeds. We wash the vegetables under cold running water together with the tomatoes, dry them with paper kitchen towels, lay them out one by one on a cutting board and cut them.
Cut the potatoes into large cubes of 2 to 3 centimeters. Transfer them to a deep bowl and pour cold water so that it completely covers the cut. Now the potatoes will not darken before use.
Chop the carrot into rings up to 5 millimeters thick, and the bell pepper into cubes up to 1 centimeter.
Cut the onion into cubes, as well as the salad pepper. Cut each tomato into 4-6 parts.
chop the garlic in layers or finely chop it. We spread all the cuts on separate deep plates. We also put on the kitchen table all other ingredients that will be needed to prepare beef goulash.
Step 2: fry the onion.
Now put the pan on medium heat and put a little lard in it. When it melts and heats up, throw onion cubes into it. Fry until golden, stirring occasionally with a kitchen spatula. This process will take no more than 2-3 minutes.
Then sprinkle the onion with paprika. It is preferable that this spice be Hungarian or Italian. Only these 2 types have a pleasant spicy taste. But if there is none, don’t worry. You can add some hot red pepper to regular paprika.
Fry onions with paprika one minute in order for the spices to mix well with the lard and have time to give off their pleasant vegetable aroma.
Step 3: stew onions with meat.
Then we add beef cubes to the onion in the pan, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix the ingredients to a homogeneous consistency and fry together 7-8 minutes, or until the moment when the meat is covered with a light golden blush.
After pouring purified water into the pan, it should completely cover the beef. Stew the meat with the lid closed for about an hour 45-55 minutes.
Step 4: bring the dish to full readiness.
After the required time, heat the kettle with about two liters of purified water. Then transfer the stewed meat to a deep pan with a thick bottom. We put sweet pepper, tomatoes, carrots, garlic there and pour boiling water over the products so that it is above their level on 4-5 centimeters.
Bring the water to a boil again and prepare goulash 15-20 minutes. During this time, the meat will become softer
When this happens, add potatoes to the pot and, if necessary, a little more salt and spices. Mix the ingredients to a homogeneous consistency and cook the dish until the potatoes are fully cooked, i.e. approximately 20-25 minutes.
After 20-25 minutes turn off the stove and insist goulash under the lid 7-10 minutes. After – with the help of a ladle, we spread it in portions on deep plates and serve it to the table.
Step 5: serve beef goulash.
Beef goulash is served hot. If desired, the dish can be seasoned with sour cream or cream. Also, each portion can be sprinkled with chopped green dill, parsley or cilantro. This goulash is very often served with fresh vegetable salads or marinated vegetable cuts. Enjoy!
Bon Appetit!
Advice:
– The set of spices can be adjusted by adding other spices that are suitable for cooking vegetables or meat dishes.
– You can use vegetable broth instead of water.
– You can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
– Lard can be replaced with 2-3 pieces of fresh lard or ordinary vegetable oil.
