Goulash (Hungarian beef stew)

• servings: 5 servings
• total time: 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 kg/2 lb beef chuck (, cut in 3.5cm / 1.5" cubes (Note 1))

1 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp/ 30g unsalted butter

2 brown onions (, cut into 1cm / 1/2" squares)

5 garlic cloves (, finely minced)

2 capsicum/bell peppers ((1 red + 1 yellow), cut into 2 cm / 0.8" squares)

2 tomatoes (, cut into 8 wedges then in half)

1/4 cup Hungarian-style paprika ((sub ordinary paprika, Note 2))

1 tsp caraway seeds (, optional (Note 3))

1 bay leaf

1 litre / 4 cups beef stock/broth (, low-sodium)

2 carrots (, peeled, cut in quarters lengthwise then into 1cm / 0.4" pieces)

2 potatoes (, cut into 1.2cm / 1/2" cubes)

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (, optional garnish)

Directions

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan), though you can use your slow cooker or stove instead (oven easiest! Note 4).

Season beef - Toss the beef with half the salt and pepper.

Cook onion - Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large oven-proof dutch oven over high heat. Cook onion for 6 minutes until the edges are light golden.

Cook beef - Add the beef and stir until the outside changes from red to brown, about 2 minutes. It won't go golden brown, it's not supposed to.

Add vegetables - Add garlic, capsicum and tomato. Stir for 3 minutes - the tomato will mostly breakdown.

Add paprika, caraway and bay leaf. Stir for 30 seconds.

Slow cook - Add beef stock, stir, bring to simmer. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Add potato - The beef should be pretty tender but not quite "fall-apart". Stir in carrot and potatoes. Return to oven, covered, for another 30 minutes. Beef should now be "fall-apart" - if not, return to the oven for 10 minutes at a time.

Serve - Ladle goulash into bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Eat as is, with optional bread for dunking! (Pictured with cheese bread)

Nutrition

• Calories: 574 kcal
• Total Fat: 32 g
• Saturated Fat: 14 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 18 g
• Trans Fat: 2 g
• Cholesterol: 150 mg
• Sodium: 1361 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 31 g
• Dietary Fiber: 7 g
• Total Sugars: 8 g
• Protein: 46 g