BEEF GOULASH
Origin: Hungary | Allergens: gluten, milk | Serves 4
Hungary’s most famous export (after football’s first international superstar, Ferenc Puskás) has gained cult status further afield
– in a Keswick public house, The Dog & Gun. It has featured on their menu for over 60 years, since a former landlord’s Hungarian wife began cooking it; and it has since reloaded the exerted calories of many a Wainwright-bagger.
The similarities with goulash’s origin and its adopted Cumbrian home go further. Gulyas translates to English as ‘herdsman’, and for Hungarian shepherds from the 9th Century onwards the dish was a staple meal, one I feel sure Lakeland hill farmers would have welcomed during the region’s stereotypical perpetual precipitation.
INGREDIENTS
Vegetable oil, 1 white onion, 3 garlic cloves, ½ red pepper, ½ green pepper, 200g passata, 600g stewing beef steak, 50-80g hot paprika, 300ml hot beef stock, tomato puree, 2tsp cornflour, salt, ground pepper Accompaniments: sour cream, fresh parsley
METHOD
At home, flour your stewing steak and fry in a hot, dry pan to brown. Place inside a food flask with your hot beef stock to mimic a sous vide cooking technique whilst you are en route to your chosen destination. The beef should ‘slow cook’ inside the flask and be tender by the time you arrive (you may additionally want to simmer the beef for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 mins before heading out, to ensure tenderness).
At your location, dice the onion and add to a lightly oiled pan on a medium heat. Thinly slice your peppers and add to the now-softened onions. Finely mince 3 garlic cloves and add the pot with a generous squeeze of tomato puree and the paprika (use a minimum of 50g but more if you don’t mind the heat). Cook out for 3-5 minutes, then add your beef and hot stock from the food flask plus your passata. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes (less if you precooked the beef). Add a dash of water to your cornflour and mix into a smooth slurry. Add this to the pan when simmering to thicken the goulash. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve in bowls with a generous scoop of sour cream and a sprinkle of parsley leaves.