CHEESY BEEF GOULASH
Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
3 tsp minced garlic
3 cups water
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 TB Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
3 TB soy sauce
1 TB seasoned salt
2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Saute ground beef in skillet over medium-high heat until cooked. Drain. Add garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. Add water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Cover and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes.
Add the uncooked elbow macaroni to skillet, stir well, return the lid and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off heat, remove the bay leaves, and add 1 cup of cheddar cheese right before serving.
From my Hungarian/Magyar great great grandmother (Katharine - born in 1876 in modern day Romania), passed to my great grandmother (Viola, wife of Katharineβs son, Michael), passed to my great aunt (Linda, wife of Michaelβs son, Bob), passed to my mom!
My mom and her family have very wonderful memories of eating this soup together. Mom makes it a bit differently now and she uses her Instant Pot. This is the original recipe as dictated by Viola to Auntie Linda.
Meat and Potato Soup/Hungarian Beef Goulash Soup (Marha Gulyas)
Ingredients:
3 tbsp lard, bacon fat, or oil
2 pounds boneless chuck steak, trimmed of all fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp Hungarian paprika (Grandma Katharine said it was important it was Hungarian!!!)
1 green pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into four pieces
1 large tomato, seeded and cut into four pieces
1/4 tsp caraway seeds
6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt and peppers to taste
Instructions:
Using a large soup kettle, heat the lard (or bacon fat or oil) and brown the beef a few pieces at a time.
When browned on all sides, remove from oil and cook the onion and garlic for about three minutes.
Return meat to the kettle.
Add the paprika and stir to coat the meat evenly.
Add the water, up to about 1/2 the level of the meat mixture.
Use boiling water as to seal the meat for greater tenderness.
Add the green pepper and caraway seeds.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
Cover and cook on very low heat for 2-3 hours.
When the meat is tender, add the cubed potatoes and more boiling water.
Continue to cook at moderate heat for an additional 20 minutes.
Add the tomato slices.
Cook for another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Remove the green pepper and tomato slices before serving with fresh white or rye bread.
In the Chicken Paprikash video Chef John posted last week, he mentioned that his favorite Hungarian dish of all times is Beef Goulash, so I went ahead and revisited his old recipe. I must say it was absolutely delicious and packed full of flavor.
His Beef Goulash recipe is from a while back so perhaps most of you have made it before, but if you have not, I highly recommend it.
P.S. I added bell peppers to the dish even though the recipe did not call for them because I won't be consuming any vegetables other than onions otherwise. My apologies if this offended any Hungarians π
https://preview.redd.it/lrt3uhd2vyt61.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=501ac1091dacd9bc5cfc0a2f76f0eaf9fc8aebcf
