Hungarian Goulash Sorta

 

Hungarian Goulash Sorta

 

It was a dark and rainy evening.  I was hungry.  What better time for a dish from Hungary for the hungry.  And even though it was evening, it suddenly dawned on me. Goulash!  But, this would be no flash in the pan.  It would take slicing and dicing a plenty, but nevertheless worth stewing over.

 

The recipe called for two lovely Hungarians from Budapest, Boglàrka and Zsófia, but unfortunately they were not in the cards, or the deck and my significant other insisted I try another recipe, or she would deck me. Hahaha, what a card.

 

By the way, did you realize Budapest was once two cities, Buda and Pest, or three for a while?   The cities fell under the Ottoman rule, until the re-conquest of Buda in 1686.  For quite some time the combined city was known as Pest-Buda, and in 1873, the cities of  Buda, Óbuda, and Pest combined to form Budapest, which became the co-capital of the Austro Hungarian Empire. Shall I keep my three faithful readers in suspense? No, but, I can take my time; they’re slow readers.  Of course the other co-capital was Vienna.

 

But, let’s get back to the really important stuff, cooking and eating.

 

Hungarian Goulash Sorta

 

Ingredients, or as the Gabor sisters, Eva and Zsa Zsa and Magda said to so many men:  Mi egymásnak lettünk teremtve!  We were meant to be together.

 

You need not worry.  Ingredients are simple and readily available.  No surprises like pickled eye of newt, or frog liver paté.

 

2 lbs beef stew meat

Olive Oil

2 sweet onions, diced

2 red onions, diced

5 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 mid sized red bell peppers, seeded and diced

1 can fire roasted, diced tomatoes, juice and all

4 heaping tablespoons sweet paprika

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika

2 cups beef broth (or more, depending on if you lean toward stew or soup)

Salt to taste

1 package of egg noodles, if it’s stew you want, you Hungary devil!

 

Puttin’ it together:  Táncoljunk!  Let’s dance!

 

Put ¼ cup oil in a stew sized pot over medium heat and when the oil is

hot, add the chunks of beef.  Stir to brown, then add all the vegetables, except for the diced tomatoes, and stir well.

Heat the oven to 350ºF or 180ºC

 

When the onions are translucent, add all the paprika and mix again.  Add the can of diced tomatoes and the beef broth.  For stew, if you need to add more broth as it cooks, do it gingerly.  I added another half to one cup.

Let the stew come to a boil, turn it to simmer and cook until the meat is barely tender.

 

Put a top on the pot and put it in the oven for two hours.

 

About ten minutes before the stew comes out of the oven, cook the egg noodles according to package directions, then stain.  Put a couple of splashes of oil and two tablespoons of butter in the noodle pan. Add the drained noodles and mix well.

 

I served the goulash over the noodles.  My professional taster deemed it edible, but just to be sure, I finished my snifter of brandy before checking to see if she were still breathing.  I tend to trust survivors.

 

Now, should I reveal the story of the time I met Zsa Zsa in Las Vegas?  Well, to tell the truth (as I seldom do), we had both been drinking and