March 13   #537                          Goulash

            Cold weather really demands good hearty food, and we have no doubt that you’ve been busy all year making stews and chili.  A close cousin to the classic American chili shares its origins as a “cowboy” campfire dish.  The cattlemen in question are from Hungary and the dish is goulash.  We went to a certified goulash expert to research this show, Jan Jandasak, the owner of Broadway Liquors, and a native of the Czech Republic.

            Jan is past master when it comes to whipping up goulash in many of its guises.  He can give you the simple peasant version or the more complex “blueblood” take.  Regardless of the variation one constant remains throughout and that is paprika.  This deep red powder has a reputation for bland mildness in America (because we favor the blander, milder Spanish version).  But genuine Hungarian paprika is another thing altogether.  Richer, sweeter, smokier and all around more impressive, the Hungarian paprika reaches something of an apotheosis in a classic goulash.

                                                Jan’s Peasant Goulash

                                       A Radio Kitchen Original Recipe

Olive oil

2 pounds yellow onions, peeled and quartered

2 pounds pot roast, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 can diced tomatoes

2 large red peppers, seeded, sliced lengthwise into strips

2 heads of garlic, partially peeled, tops cut off

salt and black pepper

2 tbs genuine Hungarian paprika

1 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs ground fennel

1 tbs ground marjoram

1 tsp corn starch

cayenne pepper to taste

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 325.  You should use a Dutch Oven with a tight lid for the goulash.  On the stove top heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in the Dutch Oven.  Toss in the cut up onions and stir to evenly distribute the onions around the pan.  Keeping the heat at medium, sweat the onions until they are translucent.

2.  When you have sweated the onions, add the cut up beef and stir so as to brown the cubes on all sides. 

3.  When the meat is browned all around, add the tomatoes.  There will now be sufficient liquid in the pot to cook everything.

4.  Put the Dutch Oven in the 325 oven, with the lid on.  Lay the heads of garlic on a sheet of tinfoil, brush the tops with olive oil and also place in the oven.

5.  When the garlic heads are roasted, (about one hour) take them out and let them cool down.  Once cool, separate the individual roasted cloves and peel their skins.  (This should be very easy to do.)  Collect the cloves.

6.  After about 90 minutes, take the Dutch Oven out, and add the red peppers,  garlic cloves, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, fennel, and marjoram.  Stir well to blend, then return the Dutch Oven to the oven and continue to cook for at least one more hour.

7.  When the goulash is well cooked, it will have produced a generous broth.  Remove about 3 tablespoons of the broth and mix it with the corn starch to form a slurry.  Return the thoroughly mixed slurry to the pot and stir well to thicken the broth.  You may add further seasonings if you choose, particularly cayenne pepper to taste.

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