hungarian goulash

Wintertime is when I get the most out of my slow cooker, it’s ideal for making tummy warming home cooked delights. One of my favourite meals that I cook is my beef Hungarian goulash, just the dish to warm you up when it’s cold out.

Now if you don’t have a slow cooker (invest in one!) but in the meantime you can just use a hob to oven casserole dish and cook following steps below but then place in the oven and cook low (approx 160 degrees) for the same length of time.

Ingredients

• 250g stewing/casserole beef cubed
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 green/yellow pepper (which ever you prefer) chopped
• 2 carrots peeled & chopped
• 2 celery sticks chopped
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 medium red chilli chopped (optional)
• ½ 200g tube of tomato puree
• 1 tsp of ground nutmeg
• 3 tsp mixed herbs
• salt & pepper
• 200ml beef stock
• 200g tinned tomatoes
• 200ml red wine
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Serves: 4    Prep time: 15mins    Cooking time: 6-8hrs

This recipe is based on using a 2.5 litre slow cooker if you have a 4.5 litre cooker double up on all ingredients except the carrots, celery, peppers and chilli.

1. Toss the beef in the flour and season

2. In a separate pan (unless you are using a casserole dish) heat up the olive oil and fry the onions, celery, pepper & chilli until soft

3. Add the beef and brown slightly

4. Then add the paprika, mixed herbs, nutmeg, tomato puree, some salt & pepper and cook for another 3 mins

5. Now add the stock, tinned tomatoes, red wine and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil

6. Transfer all your ingredients into your slow cooker, place the lid on and cook on medium-high for 6-8hrs

This dish smells delish as it cooks away all day, but resist lifting the lid to take a taste until its been cooking for at least 6 hrs. Once you’re ready to serve I recommend serving it up with boiled/roasted/mashed potatoes and a lovely glass of red.

Enjoy!