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Hungarian: Goulash II

Source of Recipe

"Joy of Cooking" by Irma S. Rombauer


List of Ingredients

2 pound beef chuck, cut in 2- inch cubes
1 cup chopped onions
6 tablespoons fat
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cups bouillon
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 cups peeled diced tomatoes (a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bouquet garni, see note*




Recipe

Cook beef and onions in hot fat until onions are soft and yellow. Lightly stir in flour, salt and paprika; cook 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, heat to boiling. Cover. Cook over medium heat or bake in moderate oven until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove bouquet garni.

Add cooked Spaetzle, recipe below. Serves 6.

* Note: Bouquet garni is a bunch of herbs either tied together or placed in a cheesecloth bag and used to flavor soups and stews. This method allows for the easy removal of the herbs before serving.



Spaetzle
This German egg dumpling is usually served alongside stew or goulash. Spaetzle can be made by hand, which is what we did, or you may use a special spaetzle maker or colander. The spaetzle maker forces dough through small holes, which produce strands of dough. The colander works much the same way, only you have to manually force the dough through.


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly grated or ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk or water
6 cups salted water or chicken stock


Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

Beat together the eggs and milk or water. Add the flour mixture. Beat well with a wooden spoon to create a fairly elastic batter.

Bring water or broth to a simmer in a large pot. Drop small bits of dough from a spoon into the boiling liquid or force the batter through a spaetzle machine or colander. Spaetzle are done when they float to the surface. They should be delicate and light, although slightly chewy. If the first few are heavy and dense, add a few more drops of milk or water to the batter before continuing.

Serve with melted butter. Or melt butter in a skillet, add spaetzle and cook 3 to 5 minutes.