When I thought of "Goulash," I thought of Hungarian Goulash (Gulyas), however, we did find it was very popular in Prague also. Made of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika (lots of paprika) and other spices, it's one of the national dishes of Hungary and a symbol of the country. Its origins can be traced back as far as the 10th century to stews eaten by Hungarian shepherds. Earlier versions of goulash did not include paprika, as it was not introduced to Europe until the 16th century.
So, finding ourselves hungry in Hungary, it was time to try this dish in its home country. Found a fab little restaurant on our 1st night and found it listed on the menu as Goulash Soup. Hungarian goulash is the only dish that can make you feel like you’ve been hugged by a grandmother you’ve never met. In fact, there was a great photo of a Nagymama (Hungarian for grandmother) looking down at us on the wall, making us feel very much at home.
It’s not just a stew - it’s a commitment. A bowl of goulash looks at you like, “Sit down. You’re not going anywhere for a while.” It contains enough paprika to make your ancestors sneeze, and every Hungarian will tell you their family recipe is the only correct one, and all other versions are “interesting choices.”
Verdict? Delicious and served with lots of heavy bread, very filling. Over the next few days and heading into Prague, we tried it several times. All good. The Czech variety also tasty - hard to tell the difference. I'll stick to just calling it Hungarian Goulash.
Found this recipe, which looked pretty good - not sure if it's an old Nagymamas secret recipe, but will have to give it a go:
To achieve the ultimate flavour, the cooking method is important and quality, real Hungarian paprika is essential. And lots of it! None of this “2 teaspoons of paprika” jazz. Hungarians use very generous amounts of paprika, and that’s key. Apparently, Hungarian's always say “however much paprika the recipe calls for – double or triple it!”
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- 3 tablespoons pork lard, or butter or oil
- 700g onions chopped
- 1/4 cup quality Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika (more to taste)
- 1kg of stewing beef, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 red capsicum/peppers cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 yellow capsicum/pepper cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 5 cups beef broth (traditionally just water is used but beef broth adds so much more flavour)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Melt the pork lard or butter/oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy soup pot over medium high heat and cook the onions until beginning to brown, about 7-10 minutes. Add the beef and cook until the beef is just starting to brown, 7-10 minutes. Add the capsicum/peppers, tomatoes, and garlic and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the paprika, salt and pepper (note: paprika becomes bitter if scorched).
Add the beef broth, bay leaves, return to the stove and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.Add the carrots and potatoes. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for another 30-40 minutes or until the beef is nice and tender. Add salt to taste. Serve with sour cream and crusty bread.
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