Urban Fire Cooking, Hungarian Goulash
Made by Alessandro Cipriano
A classic Hungarian goulash is relatively easy to prepare. After the preparation, you can let the dish cook, and at the same time you can devote yourself to the side dishes.
Of course, an open fire requires a bit more effort, as you always have to add wood to the fire, but it’s definitely fun. Try it out if you have the possibility and the space.
Many kinds of side dishes go well with a Hungarian goulash. You can add raw potato pieces directly into the goulash, just before the end of the cooking time, or a garlic bread, or as I served it with Napkin bacon dumplings, or mashed potatoes, etc. Let your imagination run wild. Have fun trying it out.
prep time: 30 MINUTES
cook time: 90 MINUTES
total time: 2 HOURS
Ingredients
For 4 servings
- 4 onions
(classic: the same amount of onions as meat) for binding the sauce
- 3-4 garlic cloves chopped
- 2 red peppers, cut into pieces
- 2 large tomatoes, roughly diced
- 800 g stewing beef, cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika powder
- 1 pinch chilli flakes, homemade
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 5 dl red wine
- 4 dl beef stock or water
- Salt
- a little pepper
- Cornflour to thicken the sauce, if necessary
Peel and halve the onions, then cut into strips. Peel and slice the garlic as well. Cut the red pepper and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.
If you got large pieces of meat from the butcher, you can cut them well in half, depending on your preference.
The fire:
I’ll give you the tip: light the fire early enough so that it can develop well and it has enough heat for the cooking process. The dish must cook well. As soon as the fire is ready, you can start.
Now hang the casserole over the fire, now add the olive oil and let it get hot. Add the meat all at once and fry it well. Add the onions and garlic. Sauté well. Add the tomatoes and chilli peppers and sauté. Now sprinkle paprika on top.
Add the tomato purée and mix well. Deglaze with red wine and fill up with beef stock or water. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Check whether the meat is already braised, if not, let it cook a little more. Remove the lid and let the liquid boil down. If the sauce is a little too liquid, you can mix some cornstarch with red wine and add it to the sauce, it also gives the sauce a nice gloss. Season to taste with salt, chilli flakes and pepper.
Ready to serve, enjoy! or as the Hungarians say: Jó étvágyat!
