Hungary · The Great Plain
Beef Goulash Soup
Gulyásleves
Hungary's iconic herdsman's soup, rich with paprika, tender beef and vegetables. The gulyás was first cooked by cattle drovers in a kettle over an open fire, and it is still the dish Hungarians are proudest of. The soup should be rich and paprika-red.
Index markers: DF · From page 11 of the e-book
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 tbsp lard or oil
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 800 g beef chuck, cut into 2 cm cubes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3–4 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- 2 red peppers (red capsicums), sliced
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed
- 2 tsp salt, plus extra to taste
- 1.5–2 litres beef stock or water
- 2 carrots and 1 parsnip, sliced
- 400 g potatoes, cut into 2 cm cubes
- Freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- Crusty bread, or nokedli or csipetke (page 13)
Method
- Melt the lard in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat and slowly cook the onions until soft and golden, 10–12 minutes.
- Take the pot off the heat and stir in the paprika so it melts into the fat. (Paprika burns in seconds over direct heat and turns bitter.)
- Return to medium heat, add the beef and garlic and brown lightly for 5 minutes, stirring.
- Add the peppers, tomatoes, caraway and salt. Pour in enough stock or water to just cover the meat and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cover and cook on low for 1½–2 hours, until the meat is very tender, topping up with the remaining liquid as it reduces.
- Add the carrots, parsnip and potatoes for the last 35–40 minutes, until tender.
- Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, then rest for 10 minutes off the heat. Serve with bread or nokedli.
The page 13 reference is to the csipetke (pinched noodles) recipe in the e-book.
Oma's secret
Cook the onions low and slow until they are soft and sweet, never brown. They melt into the soup and give it body, so you never need flour.
Storage & make-ahead
Even better the next day. Keeps for 3 days in the fridge and freezes well for 3 months (freeze before adding the potatoes if you can).
Australian metric measures: 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tablespoon = 20 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. Recipes may contain allergens, so please check every ingredient and packaged-food label if you're cooking for someone with an allergy.
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This recipe is one of 94 in Oma's Recipes. The e-book has the Dobos torte, the Christmas bejgli, stuffed cabbage, pierogi, Medovik and many more, each with Oma's secret.
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