Passport & Plate - Beef Goulash
Czech Republic | Tuesday, March 3, 2015 | 1 photos
Ingredients
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3-4 medium sized onions, chopped
6 big cloves garlic- chopped finely.
1 kg of good quality beef, cut into one-inch cubes
3 tablespoons of sweet paprika
1 heaped tablespoon of ground caraway seed
1 heaped tablespoon of marjoram
2 cubed tomatoes.
4 cups of cold water
Salt and pepper to taste
White flour.
To serve: A round loaf of bread.
How to prepare this recipeSaute onions and garlic in a pan until soft and translucent.
Roll the beef in flour to coat. Add to pan and brown.
Add salt, pepper, paprika, caraway seeds, marjoram. Cook stirring for 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and water.
Cover and cook for at least 2 hours. 30 minutes before serving remove lid to help thicken if needed.
To serve, cut a circle in the top of your loaf of bread. Remove insides. Ladle the goulash into your bread bowl. With leftover bread- tear into chunks and bake in oven for 10 minuted at 180 degrees and serve as crutons with the goulash.
The story behind this recipeThe first time I tried this amazing beef goulash was in Prague in the Czech Republic. My sister and I were on a Eurotrip- travelling through Europe on a shoe string budget using public transport and any contacts we could use along the way for free accommodation.
About halfway through our trip we arrived in Prague late one night. The next morning we woke up bright and early and went on a walking tour of the city which had become our tradition when we arrived in every city to get out bearings and hear a little bit of history along the way. This tour, however, was our first walking tour in minus 10 degrees Celsius day with on and off showers of snow. We were absolutely frozen to say the least!!
It was without a doubt the most unenjoyable tour I have ever done because all I could focus on was the fact that I thought my toes were going to fall off. Afterwards though, all was redeemed as we followed the advice of our tour guide who said we must go to this pub down an alleyway for “the best goulash in town”- and right he was! A huge bowl of goulash was presented to us, served in a crusty bread bowl that soaked up all the delicious juices and gravy. Needless to say the goulash was eaten quicker than anything I have consumed before. It became our local for the four days that we were in Prague, returning on a daily basis for either lunch or dinner to get our daily requirement of goulash.
Ever since I have tried to re-create the amazing goulash and it reminds me of such an amazing time spent travelling throughout Europe, the stories along the way, the people we met and the amazing history and architecture I got to see. Sad to say I don’t think I will ever be able to perfect it like the Czech’s had but I am trying my hardest!
