Crock Pot Hungarian Goulash Soup

You can usually find Hungarian Goulash Soup on the menus in German restaurants... totally delicious and so easy to make at home..

The recipe is really the same as Hungarian Goulash.. (I posted that recipe long ago)... you just add more beef stock or broth until you get the correct consistency you want.

So what is Hungarian Goulash?.... well... I can tell you it is not anything like what Americans call Goulash... no resemblance whatsoever... I have no idea where they got their concoction but it isn't even close to what is the authentic Hungarian Goulash.

It basically a stew made with beef stew meat and onions... seasoned with hot and sweet Hungarian paprika... cooked slowly so the meat is tender.

TIPS

You can make as much or as little as you want.. just remember... however as much meat you have ... you need onions... so if you make 3 pounds of meat.. you will need 3 pounds of onions... I know it sounds like a lot.. but trust me... my Grandfather taught me how to make this.

Make the recipe as written and about an hour before it's done check the consistency.. and add more beef stock or broth to get it to the soup consistency you want.

You can make this as Hungarian Beef Goulash and serve this over cooked buttered noodles... and use the leftovers as soup later in the week... just add more stock.

This can be frozen after cooking and defrosted and served at a later date.

Serve this with crusty bread... a fabulous "peasant" supper.... and don't forget the dollop of sour cream!

Recipe:  Crock Pot Hungarian Goulash Soup

All you need:

2 ½ pounds lean (round) stew meat

2 ½ pounds onions, sliced

Beef stock (enough to completely cover beef and onions) plus additional

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Hungarian Sweet Paprika

1 teaspoon Hungarian Hot Paprika

1 cup red wine (Cabernet would be an excellent choice)

Sour Cream for garnish

All you need to do:

Put the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a plastic bag…. Shake to mix.

Add the stew meat and shake (you will have to do this in batches).

Over medium high heat, heat a large skillet with enough olive oil to just coat the pan.

Brown the floured beef until all sides are seared.

Remove the beef and add to the crock pot.

Slice onions in half (width wise) then thinly slice.

Add enough oil to the bottom of the skillet to just coat the pan.

Add the onions.

Cook the onions over medium high heat until they are soft and translucent (don’t brown them).

If the onions start to brown, turn the heat down a bit.

Remove the skillet from the heat.

In a small ramekin or custard cup, mix the paprikas until mixed thoroughly.

Sprinkle the paprika over the onions.

Stir the onions until the paprika is evenly distributed.

Add the onions to the crock pot.

Add the red wine to the crock pot.

Add enough beef stock to completely cover the beef and onions.

Stir the pot.

Set the crock pot on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours. (you can stir occasionally but you don’t have to).

Turn the crock pot down to low for an hour.  Add any additional beef broth or stock to get the soup consistency you prefer.

If there is any grease on top... (looks like oil)... you can easily de-grease it by ladling it off... I had to ladle off about 1/4 cup... this will make your meal even leaner...

Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream.

Recipe: Stuffed Cabbage

Stuffed Cabbage was a meal from both ..Warren and my childhood… we both can remember our Mother’s making it… and oddly enough … even with all the recipe variations out there.. our Mother’s made it virtually the same way.

My Mother made it with a little Hungarian touch.. after all.. we had to add paprika and garlic in the meat mix.. but other than that… it was just about the same…. just delicious!

TIPS

When getting the leaves off the head of cabbage… make a slit at the bottom of the leave where it connects.. then using your fingers loosen it from the base to the top…

If the leaves tear.. don’t get upset.. just roll it up as best as you can and secure it with tooth picks.. it will cook up just fine.

I used condensed tomato soup since that’s what our mothers used. If you prefer a more Italian twist to this.. you could substitute tomato sauce.

I’ve read reviews on other sites for similar recipes and some complained that it was bland.. well folks… that’s the recipe… it isn’t all hot and spicy.. at least not traditionally.. you certainly can make it that way… but traditionally it is very similar to stuffed peppers.

My recipe uses both Hungarian Hot and Sweet Paprika.. it really does add flavor and I recommend you try using it.. they are both easily found in the spice section of the grocery store.

I bake my Stuffed Cabbage… my mother did it on the stove, but you run the risk of charring the bottom layer… baking it in the oven works like a charm.

I chop the onion and garlic cloves together in the mini chopper… it chops them really fine and mixes them nicely.

Serve these with mashed potatoes or noodles.






Recipe: Stuffed Cabbage

All you need:

8 cabbage leaves
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1 egg, beaten
½ medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
½ teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Sprinkling of salt and pepper
2 cans condensed tomato soup

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread about ½ a can of the condensed soup over the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. Set them aside.

Place the cabbage leaves in gently boiling water for about 5-7 minutes.

Remove with tongs and drain in a colander.. run cold water over them .. then dry them with paper towel.

In a medium bowl combine the meat, rice, egg, onion, garlic, parsley, paprikas, salt and pepper.

Add 3 tablespoons of the tomato soup to the mix. Combine well.

Lay the cabbage leaves out and divide the mixture evenly among the leaves.

Fold the sides in over the filling and roll them up starting at the end with the large vein. Secure with toothpicks. Place the cabbage rolls in the prepared baking dish.



Cover with the remaining condensed soup from the opened can and the second can.

Cover the baking dish with foil (non-stick works best… non-stick side down.

Place the baking dish on the foil lined baking sheet (to catch any overflow).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 2 ½ hours.

Recipe: Hungarian Pork Goulash

This recipe for Hungarian Pork Goulash is started on the stove and finished using a crock pot… so easy and convenient… and so delicious with a little bit of sharpness of the Hungarian Paprika and the creaminess of the sour cream.

Having grown up in a German Hungarian house, loving Hungarian food just came naturally. Many Americans call a ground beef mixture “goulash”… that’s not what this is… nothing remotely like it.

You can also make this completely on the stove in a Dutch oven or stew pot.

TIPS

I used a little more paprika than I listed here… ours has definitely a zip to it… I used 1 ½ teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika and 1 teaspoon hot Hungarian Paprika.

Start with the measurements in the directions and add more to your tastes if you like.

The brand and freshness of the paprika will greatly affect the sharpness of the paprika.

You should be able to find both Sweet and Hot Hungarian Paprika in the grocery store in the spice section.

If you can find pork stew meat, ask the butcher to cut you some.

Cook the onions in whatever grease from the meat and bacon are left. If you don’t have much grease left.. add a bit of olive oil. Don’t add much, just enough to cook the onions and garlic until soft.

It is important to remove the skillet form the heat then add the paprika. Don’t add the paprika over the heat.

Add the sour cream at the very end, just before serving.

I wasn’t going to be home while it was in the crock pot, so I added red peppers just before I left the house. Ideally, add them about half way through cooking so they keep some of their “substance”. Adding them like I did doesn’t hurt the dish, it just makes them soft.

Use the entire large onion, I only tell you to cut it in half so the slices are smaller.

This recipe will make about 4 servings when served over noodles.

I hope you try this delicious dish!






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Recipe: Hungarian Pork Goulash

All you need:

2 slices smoked bacon
1 ½ pound pork stew meat
¾ cup flour
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, cut in half then sliced
2 large garlic gloves, finely chopped
About 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon Sweet Hungarian Paprika * See Tips
¾ teaspoon Hot Paprika *See Tips
Chicken stock or broth
1 red bell pepper, sliced
¾ cup sour cream
Cooked Noodles

All you need to do:

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until cooked but still pliable (not crispy). Drain the bacon on paper towels.

In the meantime, mix the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a wide bowl.

Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour.

Brown the meat in the bacon drippings over medium high heat.

Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and put in a crock pot.

Add the onions and garlic to the skillet and add any needed olive oil (see Tips).

Lower the heat to medium and cook the onions and garlic until soft. Stir frequently and do not allow them to brown.

REMOVE the onions and garlic from the heat. Add the paprika and mix well.

Add the onion and garlic mixture to the crock pot.

Add enough chicken stock or broth to cover.

Cook on high until it simmers, then reduce the heat to low and cook about 5 hours.

Add the sliced red bell pepper about ½ way through cooking. (see Tips)

Add more chicken stock as needed.

When cooking is complete, turn off the crockpot and remove a ladle of cooking liquid to a bowl. Add the sour cream and whisk until smooth.

Add the sour cream mixture back into the pot and stir well.

Serve over hot buttered noodles.

Recipe: Hungarian Cottage Cheese

I love ethnic foods.. foods that are not the usual fare... recipes that are passed from one generation to the next... this is one of them.. my Grandparents made this.. both sides of the family... and so did my Mother... and I did as well...

This recipe is for a cottage cheese mixture ….something I call Hungarian Cottage Cheese…. I couldn’t begin to translate what we call it…. even my Mother was stumped… so for lack of anything better… I call it Hungarian Cottage Cheese…. it’s something my family has made all my life… actually before I was born… I don’t know where it originated or even how or why these ingredients were put together… but I grew up eating it and loving it.

Growing up we ate it a lot in the summer… with fresh Italian bread… My Mother and I serve it with crackers sometimes too.

Like typical Hungarians… we like things with a little zip to it… especially my Father… so it uses paprika… what would a Hungarian dish be without paprika?

It has four basic ingredients… cottage cheese, sour cream, onion (usually diced green onions … I also use diced red onion sometimes… as I did for the picture above) and paprika.

TIPS

The paprika can be any paprika you chose… I use a combination of hot and sweet Hungarian paprika…. the quantities listed are a suggestion.. you need to make it to your tastes…. so add as much or as little as you want.

As for the quantities of sour cream and cottage cheese.. these too.. are flexible… I like the tang of the sour cream with the slight sweetness of the cottage cheese… use my quantities as a guide and make it to your tastes.

The picture above doesn’t do it justice.. it has a slight pink color to it… because of the paprika.

This recipe serves four or makes a great munchie with crackers.

I hope you try this.. it really is delicious… makes for a great munch on a hot summer night.






Recipe: Hungarian Cottage Cheese

All you need:

1 (8 ounces) container cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
¼ - ½ cup chopped green or red onion (to taste)
½ teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika (to taste)
¼ teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika (to taste)

All you have to do:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve with fresh bread or crackers.

Save about a tablespoon of the chopped onion for garnish on the top.

Recipe: Chicken Paprikash

This wonderful Hungarian dish probably has hundreds of different recipes around…. all slightly different but most agree on the chicken, the onions, the paprika and the sour cream. This recipe for Chicken Paprikash is mine…. tweaked over the years.

TIPS

My biggest tweak is that I use boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders, which work particularly well… just about every other recipe uses chicken parts…. we happen to like chicken breasts and I did want to cut the fat down a bit….

I use regular sour cream though…. I can’t give that up.

When adding the sour cream/flour mixture.. add a little at a time, whisking between additions.  I usually mix about half in.. then add some of the hot mixture to the sour cream/floor mixture.. whisking briskly until it's smooth then adding it into the pan... again whisking briskly until it's smooth.

The most important part of the success of this recipe is the paprika… you have to use Hungarian Sweet Paprika…. you can find it in the spice section of most grocery stores.

Some people use wine in the recipe…. I didn’t… if you want to use wine, replace ½ cup of the chicken broth with wine.  A Sauvignon blanc would work well.

A little extra dollop of sour cream when serving this never hurt either.

I hope you try this super easy and delicious meal.








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Recipe: Chicken Paprikash

All you need:

Olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion, sliced very thin
2 tablespoons Hungarian Sweet Paprika
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

In a large skillet, coat the bottom with olive oil and heat the skillet over medium high heat.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

Sear the chicken breasts on both sides in the skillet.

Add the onions and cook them until they’re translucent…. don’t let them brown. If they start to brown, turn down the heat.

When the onions are translucent, remove the skillet from the heat.

Add the paprika over the onions…. mix well.

Return the skillet to the heat and add the chicken broth.

Simmer until the chicken is fully cooked (about 20 minutes).

Remove the chicken to an oven proof dish and cover with foil. Place in the oven to keep warm.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and the flour.

Add the sour cream mixture to the skillet and using a whisk, stir the sauce until it is smooth and thickened.

Add salt and pepper to your taste.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with noodles.

Recipe: Hungarian Cucumber Salad

This recipe for Hungarian Cucumber Salad is one I grew up with as a child. We all love sour cream… my Dad and I could eat it with a spoon, we like it so much… so this salad was made in heaven for us… cucumbers, onions, sour cream and of course… paprika… what would a Hungarian cucumber salad be without paprika….

This is so....hmmmmm …. so good!

I make this all summer long when I can get cucumbers at local farm stands and farmers markets…. there is nothing like fresh produce used to make wonderful meals.







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Recipe: Hungarian Cucumber Salad

All you need:

3 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium to large onion, thinly sliced (sweet onion preferred)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice to taste
1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
Hungarian hot paprika to taste

All you need to do:

Place the sliced cucumber in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt.

Allow the cucumbers to rest for about 2 hours.

Water may accumulate at the bottom of the bowl… drain it.

Add the onion. Mix completely.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour the sour cream dressing over the cucumbers and mix well.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Note: If you have leftovers …. The cucumbers will continue to draw water which will separate from the sour cream… just pour off the little bit of water that accumulates and stir the salad again.

Recipe: Hungarian Beef Goulash

This Hungarian Beef Goulash recipe is absolutely delicious. This is so easy… you can set this up in your crock pot and let it cook itself. It makes a wonderfully hearty meal…. Serve it with buttered noodles and a dollop of sour cream… a crusty fresh bread….yummmmm

TIPS

I use red wine in the recipe… while I think it adds a wonderful robust flavor…. and the alcohol does cook off… I fully understand that many people do not want to add alcohol to their food… the recipe is delicious without it as well…

I wrote the recipe for 2 ½ pounds of lean (round) stew meat…. It should easily make 4 hearty servings or 6 average servings. Just remember…. however much you have in meat you will need to have the same amount in onions…. so you would need 2 ½ pounds of onion. The amount of beef stock you will need will be enough to almost cover the meat and onions… don’t drown it… just add enough to almost cover it.

Make sure to use Hungarian Sweet Paprika and Hungarian Hot Paprika for the best results. You can find it by the spices in the supermarket. See my spice section for a little information on these paprikas.

Finally…. The key to tender meat that has all the flavors infused… you need to simmer this slowly…. I used a crock pot …. I’d never made it in a crock pot before…. But I had one of those duh moments… and did it… it worked out beautifully… so much so… I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before.

I set my crock pot on high for 4 hours and low for an hour…. If you are setting this up and leaving it … you can set it on low for 6-7 hours.

I hope you will try this… and enjoy it!






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Hungarian Beef Goulash Recipe:

All you need:

2 ½ pounds lean (round) stew meat
2 ½ pounds onions, sliced
Beef stock (enough to almost cover beef and onions)
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Hungarian Sweet Paprika
1 teaspoon Hungarian Hot Paprika
1 cup red wine (Cabernet would be an excellent choice)
Sour Cream for garnish

All you need to do:

Put the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a plastic bag…. Shake to mix.

Add the stew meat and shake (you will have to do this in batches).

Over medium high heat, heat a large skillet with enough olive oil to just coat the pan.

Brown the floured beef until all sides are seared.

Remove the beef and add to the crock pot.

Slice onions in half (width wise) then thinly slice.

Add enough oil to the bottom of the skillet to just coat the pan.

Add the onions.

Cook the onions over medium high heat until they are soft and translucent (don’t brown them).

If the onions start to brown, turn the heat down a bit.

Remove the skillet from the heat.

In a small ramekin or custard cup, mix the paprikas until mixed thoroughly.

Sprinkle the paprika over the onions.

Stir the onions until the paprika is evely distributed.

Add the onions to the crock pot.

Add the red wine to the crock pot.

Add enough beef stock to almost cover the beef and onions.

Stir the pot.

Set the crock pot on high and cook for 4 hours. (you can stir occasionally but you don’t have to)

Turn the crock pot down to low for an hour.

If there is any grease on top... (looks like oil)... you can easily de-grease it by ladeling it off... I had to ladel off about 1/4 cup... this will make your meal even leaner...

Serve over hot buttered noodles and garnish with a dollop of sour cream.

Hungarian Beef Goulash – The Debate

Commentary

The recipe for Hungarian Beef Goulash that I will post today is one I have been cooking for years. My Mother and I had a discussion recently about my recipe… apparently, in her opinion, my Goulash is not “authentic”…. well…. we have a difference of opinion…

So I did some research.. and I believe my one Hungarian Cookbook says it all…. as many as there are Hungarian cooks… there are probably as many Goulash recipes…. much like the American Pot Roast… or Beef Stew.

I also surfed the net… I found many, many recipes for “Authentic” Hungarian Beef Goulash… and no two were exactly alike.

So what is Hungarian Beef Goulash? Well, they seem to agree on a few things…. beef, onions and paprika…. after that…. things go astray. Some had tomatoes… some insist absolutely NO tomatoes… some add carrots… some add celery… some use wine… some don’t…. some use beef stock …some use only wine… some use both…so I have come to the conclusion… that most are similar… and the basic taste is roughly the same… a beef stew that is seasoned heavily with sweet and hot paprika… and has onions… my recipe falls into this category.

According to my Mother, my Grandfather used wine and no stock… I honestly don’t remember that… but I was too young to remember when he made it. I use beef stock with a healthy dose of wine (which cooks off… but leaves a wonderful robust flavor).

I do remember that his golden rule was… you had to use the same amount of onions as you did beef… so if you used 2 pounds of beef…. you had to use 2 pounds of onions. He also insisted that when you added the paprika… you had to take the pot off the heat when you added it in. He also used a mix of sweet and hot paprika…. at least this much my Mom and I agree on.

Quite possibly my recipe evolved over the years… I honestly don’t know…. what I can tell you is that when vacationing in Toronto years ago… we happened on a small Hungarian restaurant… and decided to stop and eat supper there. In the restaurant, they had this map of that area from where my family was from… when the waitress asked why I was studying the map so intently… I told her I was looking for my family’s home town…. and told her the town… she ran into the back… and out came the owner/chef and his wife… they were from a town about 10 miles from my family’s… we were treated like family guests… it was a wonderful evening of fabulous food and wine…. and the Goulash was almost a carbon copy of mine.

So “authentic” recipes will always be a matter of opinion… and frankly… they are all authentic… it’s what has evolved from their family.