Travel is non-existent these days. I’ve been trying to keep adventures alive by exploring more in the kitchen! We’ve made an effort to try new recipes and bring our favorite foods/destinations to us. The first week we started, we made adjaruli khachapuri, one of my favorite Georgian foods. Then it was pierogi from Poland. For the most recent recipe attempt, it was Hungarian goulash! Since this post, I’ve also made bureks from the Balkans!
Goulash is a hearty stew made of meat and vegetables. Usually, it’s seasoned with lots of paprika and other spices. Goulash originated in Hungary, and is one of the national dishes of the country! That being said, it’s popular in Central Europe—I’ve eaten goulash in Prague before in addition to finding it on lots of menus in Budapest. It’s a very hearty meal, and perfect for warming up a chilly night!
For our recipe, we decided to go all out and use bread bowls. You definitely don’t need to, but I’d recommend having some nice bread to soak up the goulash. While it took over 2 hours to cook, a lot of that “cooking time” was actually really passive. The stew was simmering and we got up to check it at intervals.
Serving sizes can vary greatly. This recipe made about 8 serving sizes—we actually ended up freezing a few portions because there was just so much! This is really hearty and filling, and definitely easy to soak up. I hope you’ll love goulash too—here’s how to cook goulash at home.
Table of Contents
Goulash Recipe
Makes: ~8 servings
Time Required: 2-2.5 hours
Ingredients: Meat
500g braising steak
2 tbsp plain flour
Vegetable oil
2 tsp salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika
Ingredients: Stew
1 giant onion (2 medium onions) (diced)
3 or 4 medium carrots (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
Spices for seasoning (salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander)
6 cloves of garlic (diced)
4 tbsp paprika
120g tomato puree
2 liters of beef stock
3 potatoes (cubed)
2 tbsp flour or 1 tbsp corn flour
Ingredients: Serving
Thick, round, bloomer bread loaves (however many bread bowls you’re making)
Instructions For Cooking
1) Cut the meat into chunks. Add the flour and seasoning into a small bowl and stir. Dab all the meat in flour mix, and then fry it in vegetable oil to brown it. Take out and put to one side.
2) Dice the onions, carrots, pepper, and garlic. In a big pot, heat with oil, salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and coriander for 10 minutes. Add in the meat and mix well.
3) Add in the paprika and the tomato puree. I know it seems like a lot of paprika, but trust me, it works.
4) Add the beef stock to the pot, stir and mix well. Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
5) Cube the potatoes and add to the mix. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Add in a bit more seasoning (salt/garlic) if needed. Depending on the consistency of the goulash, add in the flour/corn flour to thicken if it needs it.
6) Cut the top off of the bread loaves and hollow them out to make a bread bowl. Ladle the goulash mix into the bread bowls and serve.
What If I Want Leftovers?
For most of our meals, Adam and I cook a main meal with multiple portions, so that we both have leftovers the next day. Luckily, it’s really easy to get leftovers for Hungarian goulash! Once the goulash has cooled after step 5, just package it up to either refrigerate or freeze it! The leftover bread that was hollowed out from the bread bowls goes great the next day.
If you’re interested in more Hungarian cooking, you might be interested in some of these cookbooks! You can buy Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes For New World Cooks on Amazon (UK) or Amazon (US). You can also buy a shorter cookbook Classic Recipes of Hungary on Amazon (UK) or Amazon (US).
I loved my trip to Hungary in 2016, although there’s a lot more of the country I’d like to see! I spent most of my time in Budapest, which is a fantastic destination for a city break. I did eat goulash, but unfortunately it was so long ago I didn’t make any notes of where it was! I would definitely love to go back someday and explore more. I’d also love to see more of Hungary, as besides Budapest I only went on a daytrip to Esztergom and Visegrad. Another place to put on the wishlist for when travel resumes!
I hope this recipe inspires you to bring a little bit of Hungary into your life! And if you do find yourself on a trip to Hungary, don’t miss trying their classic dish!
*Photo credit for feature photo by ERIC ZHU on Unsplash.
Have you ever had Hungarian goulash before? Will you be trying out the recipe? Share your experience in the comments below!
You might like my other posts:
A Beginner’s Guide To Budapest
Esztergom And Visegrad: Danube Bend Daytrip Towns
All of my Hungary posts!
Recipe: Bureks From The Balkans
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[…] trying new recipes! First up was adjaruli khachapuri from Georgia, next was pierogi from Poland, goulash from Hungary, and now bureks from the […]