Hungarian Goulash (Gulyás) — Paprika Beef and Potato Soup

• 900 gbeef chuck (cut into 3 cm cubes)
• 40 gpork lard
• 450 gyellow onions (finely chopped)
• 3 clovegarlic (minced)
• 25 gsweet Hungarian paprika
• 2 ghot Hungarian paprika
• 2 tspcaraway seeds (lightly crushed)
• 12 gfine sea salt
• 1 tspground black pepper
• 1 leafbay leaf
• 1ripe tomato (about 120 g, peeled and chopped)
• 1Hungarian wax pepper (seeded and chopped; use green bell pepper if unavailable)
• 250 gcarrots (peeled and cut into 2 cm pieces)
• 150 gparsnip (peeled and cut into 2 cm pieces)
• 600 gwaxy potatoes (peeled and cut into 3 cm cubes)
• 1.8 lwater
• 1eggs
• 80 gall-purpose flour
• 6 sprigflat-leaf parsley (leaves chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Pat the beef cubes dry with paper towels and season them with 4 g of the measured salt. Let the meat stand at room temperature for 20 minutes while you chop the vegetables, because dry, slightly tempered beef browns and stews more evenly.

2. 2

   Melt the pork lard in a heavy 5 l pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring often, until they are soft, golden, and reduced but not dark brown.

3. 3

   Add the garlic and crushed caraway seeds and cook for 1 minute, just until fragrant. Pull the pot off the heat, stir in both paprikas for 20 seconds, and immediately add 150 ml of the measured water so the paprika blooms without scorching.

4. 4

   Return the pot to medium-high heat and add the beef with any juices from the bowl. Stir for 6 to 8 minutes until the meat loses its raw color and is well coated in the onion-paprika base.

5. 5

   Add the remaining 1.65 l water, the remaining 8 g salt, black pepper, bay leaf, tomato, and Hungarian wax pepper. Bring the liquid to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover partly, and simmer for 90 minutes until the beef is beginning to turn tender.

6. 6

   Add the carrots, parsnip, and potatoes to the pot and stir carefully so the vegetables settle into the broth. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the beef can be pierced easily with a fork.

7. 7

   While the vegetables cook, make the csipetke by mixing the egg, flour, and 1 g salt into a firm dough. Knead it for 2 minutes, then pinch off pea-sized bits with flour-dusted fingers and spread them on a lightly floured plate.

8. 8

   Drop the csipetke into the gently bubbling goulash and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring once or twice so they do not stick together. The dumplings are done when they float and taste tender but still slightly chewy.

9. 9

   Remove the bay leaf and rest the goulash off the heat for 10 minutes before serving. Ladle it into deep bowls and finish each serving with chopped parsley, keeping the texture brothy rather than reducing it into a thick stew.