When winter begins to chirp, it's as if the sun has extinguished its light, hiding behind a gray cloud, revealing her vulnerability. The coldness on my feet at dawn asks for a rug and slippers. I am chopping something or another, and the window is open. I hear the sound of the wind and soon-to-fall leaves. The trees will soon become naked, exposed, and vulnerable, just like the sun. The chopping of the onion has already made me shed a tear. I breathe in the cold air.
This is the perfect time for the smell of stormy, simmering Goulash, the stew that fills my heart.
WHAT YOU NEED
For the meat:
-1½ lbs of beef neck/shoulder, cut into cubes
-1 tsp salt
-¼ tsp black pepper
For the stew:
-4 onions, chopped into small cubes
-⅓ cup of olive oil
-5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
-2 tbsp sweet paprika
-1 tsp smoked paprika
-1 tbsp aleppo pepper (or ½ tsp cayenne pepper/chili flakes)
-3 tbsp tomato paste
-3 cups water
-1 bay leaf
-1 tbsp salt
-½ tsp of black pepper
-2-3 potatoes, sliced thick
HOW TO MAKE
The meat:
- In a mixing bowl, add the meat cubes, season with salt and black pepper, and massage them into the meat. Set aside until room temperature.
The stew:
- In a heavy pot on medium heat, add the olive oil and chopped onion. Stir until the onion softens.
- Add the crushed garlic and mix well.
- Add the meat into the pot and stir well for 5 minutes on medium high heat.
- Add the sweet paprika, smoked paprika, aleppo pepper, salt, black pepper, and. Mix well.
- In a measuring cup, add the 3 ½ cups of water and tomato paste. Stir well until unified and pour into the Goulash pot along with the bay leaf.
- Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pot.
- Set a timer to continue cooking for 1.5 hours.
- Peel the potatoes and cut longways in half, then each half into quarters.
- After 1.5 hours, uncover the Goulash pot and stir.
- Add the sliced potatoes on top and cover the pot.
- With a kitchen towel or oven mitts, gently shake the pot back and forth. That is to mix the potato well in the Goulash stew.
- Let the Goulash cook for another hour and a half on medium-low heat.
- Check if the meat is soft. If not, continue cooking on medium-low heat for another 35 minutes. Add salt if needed.
I love to serve my Goulash on top of smooth mashed potatoes, and sprinkle some chives on top. The colors match perfectly.
