Goulash soup is one of the highlights of Hungarian cuisine. This is a rather thick soup that can be made either from meat alone or with the addition of mushrooms, potatoes and flour dumplings. It was originally the food of the shepherds. That is why real goulash should only be cooked in a cauldron. For its excellent taste, the Hungarians themselves often call this dish "the royal soup". Its preparation has its own subtleties, which must be strictly observed, otherwise you can get not real goulash, but boiled meat in sauce.
It is necessary
-
- 800 g of beef;
- 700 g potatoes;
- 3 large onions;
- 1 carrot;
- 10 g ground paprika;
- 2 red bell peppers;
- 3 tomatoes;
- 20 g of vegetable oil;
- 3 bay leaves;
- a clove of garlic;
- salt
- ground black pepper
- cumin to taste.
- For dumplings:
- egg;
- 70 g flour;
- a pinch of salt.
Instructions
Step 1
Rinse the beef, pat dry with a paper towel and cut into medium-sized cubes.
Step 2
Peel the onions and chop into small cubes. Pour vegetable oil into a saucepan. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and sauté until golden brown. Never fry the onion until black, otherwise the taste of the goulash will be hopelessly spoiled.
Step 3
Add the prepared meat to the onion, season with pepper and salt to your liking. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer the meat pieces over low heat until tender, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. This usually takes 15 minutes.
Step 4
Prepare the dumplings. They are added to goulash for thickness. Dumplings are an optional part of the dish - you don't need to put them in it at all. Beat the egg and salt, add flour and knead the dough. It should be cool. Put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Step 5
Wash the vegetables. Peel the potatoes and cut them into fairly large cubes. Chop a clove of garlic finely. Add vegetables to a saucepan and add ground paprika. This spice plays almost the main role in the taste of goulash. Try to find smoked paprika in stores - in addition to drying it in the sun, it is also processed with smoke. Adding such spice to goulash will give it a unique aroma of a steppe fire.
Step 6
Pour cold water over vegetables and meat so that it covers them by no more than three centimeters. It is not worth adding too much water, as this soup must certainly be thick. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for half an hour.
Step 7
Cut the tomatoes into small cubes. Place them in a saucepan 10 minutes before the goulash is done.
Step 8
Roll out the dumpling dough into a small rope, the diameter of which should not exceed 2 centimeters, and cut it into wedges. They then need to be dipped into the soup. You can do much easier: just pinch off small pieces of the dough the size of a fingernail and dip them into the goulash. As soon as they float, turn off the fire.
Step 9
Season the finished soup with caraway seeds, pour into bowls and serve.
