Goulasch

Eating is a great way to make new discoveries. When traveling, whether in southern Spain or southern U.S., trying new foods and cuisines gives you a connection to the local culture.

But it's also a way of recalling, even revisiting, the past. When I lived in Europe, particularly in Germany, Hungarian goulasch was a common item on menus and it was something I cooked often at home.

I've been puzzled since coming back to the U.S. that it seems hard to find a recipe for goulasch, and winters come and go and I pine for my goulasch. I thought I had finally discovered one in an old edition of the New York Times Cookbook, the old Craig Claiborne version. There was a recipe for Prague three-meat goulasch that I thought would be similar to the one I used to make. But, shockingly, it was a recipe that didn't include paprika -- the quintessential ingredient for goulasch!

So I decided to wing it. I pulled a couple of other (incomplete) recipes from Epicurious to get a better idea of ingredients and proportions and had a go at it. I remembered the essential thing, besides the paprika, was to have almost an equal amount of onion and meat.

I got about 2 lbs of pork shoulder, beef chuck, and veal stew meat, cubed, and sliced 1-1/2 lbs of onions (more onion would not have hurt it). I browned the meat in vegetable oil and set it aside, then sauteed the onion in a little more oil. Oddly, I was out of garlic, otherwise I would have added a couple of crushed garlic cloves. When the onion was soft, I added 2 Tbl of Szeged Hungarian sweet paprika, and 2 tsp. of hot paprika we brought back from our trip to Budapest 3 years ago (I know, not exactly fresh; it could have taken a little more so maybe it just wasn't so hot anymore). I also added a Tbl. of flour to thicken the sauce and 1 Tbl of tomato paste diluted with a little water. I cooked that for 5 min. or so then added back the meat, 1 Tbl. of marjoram, a bay leaf, and 2 c. of chicken broth. I simmered it for 1-1/2 hours. It seemed a little soupy but we saved it for the next day and by then the sauce had thickened further and it was just right. I got a box of Knorr spaetzle at Whole Foods and of course it was nothing like real spaetzle, but it was edible. Next time I would just use noodles.

The goulasch was great! Some recipes call for mushrooms and I think I would try that the next time. Now goulasch can takes it place among the dishes we cook every winter, along with chili, sauce bolognese, short ribs and brisket.