The original version of goulash was created in the frozen fields of Medieval Hungary when hard-working shepherds, known as “goulyas” created a simple stew out of beef and onions. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, this is a simple enough dish, but when a spice called paprika arrived on the scene it was transformed into the dish we know today.
Goulash does have a great history. Originally in Hungary, the medieval herdsmen would drive their cattle to market and would set aside a small number to be eaten along the way. When a cow was slaughtered, the prime cuts were used for feasting and the remnant cuts were sun-dried and saved for later on. These cowboys, known as “goulyas” would put their dried beef into a pot with water and cook it. Which is not unlike the origins of our own chili con carne. They might also toss in some onion and anything else that came to hand, and there it was: Hungarian Cowboy Stew.
And then along came paprika, brought into Hungary by the invading Turks. Actually,paprika was created in the Americas, and it’s nothing more than dried out peppers that are ground up. But once it reached Hungary it was a no-brainer to add some paprika to the goulash stew and what do you know? It made it ten times better.
Now today in Hungary, classic goulash is considered a soup. It has a lot more broth than meat. But the basic idea hasn’t changed.
Here’s how Jerry would approach it. He’d get a pound or so of beef, chuck roast is perfect, cut it up into cubes, season it and sauté it in the skillet until it turned brown. Then he’d add a whole bunch of cut up onions that he sweated and a little beef broth. This is when you want to add your paprika, Hungarian if you can find it, or smoked Spanish. Then there’s spices like ground fennel, black and red pepper and marjoram. You’d let everything simmer uncoveredfor a couple hours at least. Ideally the onions will melt and their flavor will impact the broth and the whole stew will thicken.
Now it’s perfectly fine to stop there, but no one is going to complain if you load up on some garlic, and toss in some cut-up potatoes for good measure.
This is where the modern Hungarian version gets a little crazy. Somebody along the way started adding pasta to the stew. Things like elbow macaroni or little tube shapes. And then came tomatoes, and carrots and all sorts of parsley, etc., etc. And like we said, they have a lot of broth so it is much more like a soup than a stew.
The kind we see most often in the States is the thicker, simpler paprika and beef stew, which is often served over top of noodles. And in this case we might think that simpler is better.
Finally, I have to tell you a story about a dinner I attended, prepared by a fellow who was a native of the Czech Republic. He made not one, not two, but three variations of goulash for us to try, and they all were great. I was quite impressed at the time that he could actually pull off real variations on the theme without repeating himself. And needless to say, nobody left the table hungry that night.
Here’s a recipe for classic goulash.
Beefy Goulash
(Inspired by The Cozy Apron)
Ingredients:
2 ½ bls beef chuck roast, cut into medium sized cubes
Salt and pepper
3 tbs all-purpose flour
olive oil
2 tbs butter
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
4 whole, peeled San Marzano style tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbs chopped parsley
Mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or favorite side dish
Process:
1. Place the chunks of the beef into a large bowl, and season with a couple of generous pinches of salt and black pepper; sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of the flour, and toss to coat.
2. Place a large braising pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and drizzle in about 3 tablespoon of the olive oil; once hot, add in about half of the beef (work in 2-3 batches), and brown on all sides for about 4-5 minutes; remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
3. To the same pan, add in 2 more tablespoons of olive oil along with the butter, and once melted, add in the onions and carrots, and sauté for about 2-3 minutes until softened; then, add in the paprika, the ground caraway seeds and the bay leaves, and stir to combine.
4. Next, add in the garlic, and once aromatic, stir in the tomato paste to incorporate; sprinkle in the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour and stir to combine, then stir in the beef stock/broth, followed by the chopped tomatoes.
5. Return the browned beef back into the pan, stir to combine, and bring everything to a vigorous simmer; then, reduce the heat to medium-low or low, cover partly with a lid so that some steam can escape, and cook until the beef is tender, about 2 – 2 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.
6. Finish the beef goulash by stirring in the chopped parsley, and serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or your favorite side.
