Cooking 101: Goulash

Daniel Pfyl, hospitality management lecturer at Otago Polytechnic, shares some professional techniques to make your cooking easier. This week it is goulash.

Serves 4-6

800g stewing meat
30ml oil
6 onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic
3 tsp paprika (medium or hot as desired)
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp tomato paste
50ml red wine
100ml beef stock
1 can (420g) diced tomatoes
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 bay leaf
1 clove
lemon zest
1 green capsicum
2 large potatoes

The secret with goulash is to have the same amount of onion as meat, because it works as thickening as well as flavouring.

 

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1 To finely slice the onions: Cut in half vertically, peel. Cut off the top and the root end. With the half-onion cut side down, tuck your fingers out of the way and slice thinly from root end to top end.

The layers will separate leaving thin, curved flakes of onion. 

 

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2 Heat a heavy-bottomed pot, add oil, and the finely sliced onions. Stir, turn the heat down, put the lid on and allow to sweat. They should soften but not colour.

 

 

 

 

 

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3 You can put the caraway seed directly in the goulash or in the bouquet garni but it's not ideal to bite on a seed, Chef Pfyl says.

 

 

 

 

 

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4 Make the bouquet garni by putting the caraway seeds, a few peppercorns, a bayleaf, parsley stalks and a couple of slices of lemon zest on a piece of muslin and tie into a little bag.

 

 

 

 

 

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5 When the onions are soft, add the chopped garlic crushed with salt, and the meat. Allow the meat to sweat over low heat with the lid on, so it doesn't brown.

 

 

 

 

 

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6 Add paprika and tomato paste and stir to mix, then add red wine and stir as it bubbles up and reduces a little. The taste is not so raw if wine is reduced like this first.

 

 

 

 

 

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7 Stir in a little flour until it disappears, then add stock and the can of tomatoes to cover the meat. Check seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

 

 

 

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8 Because this is cooking on the top of the stove, it needs plenty of liquid, as it will reduce during cooking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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9 Add the bouquet garni, put on the lid and allow to simmer (not boil) for about 45 minutes. Then check it isn't becoming too dry, and add the potatoes, cut in half if they are large, and the capsicum cut in pieces.

Replace lid and let it continue to simmer for another 45 minutes to 1 hours. The total cooking time is 1 to 2 hours.

 

 

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10 When the goulash is cooked, the onions will have melted into the sauce. Goulash is always better the next day when flavours have melded and concentrated.

• For a topping, you can sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, but gremolata is nice - a mix of finely chopped parsley, garlic and grated lemon zest.

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Chef Pfyl, who is from Switzerland, likes to serve goulash with spätzle, a rustic, home-made pasta or small dumplings traditional in central Europe. However, pasta, bread or mashed potatoes also make a good accompaniment.

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