18 January 2009

Austrian Goulash Soup



The story in the cookbook says that this soup can be found along the autobahn, served at roadside stops. Not sure how authentic that little story is, but I can tell you this: the soup is worth that kind of tale.


It is killer - big chunks of beef and potato, lots of good veg, all in a thickened stew fragrant with sweet paprika and caraway. Not a delicate soup in the least - this is a robust, stick-to-your ribs kind of a soup. Perfect for a comfy lunch in the cold days of a Midwestern winter.


Austrian Goulash Soup
(from the "Yellow Bible", aka The Gourmet Cookbook, 2004)



Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, chopped
3 lbs. boneless chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 medium onions, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. paprika (preferably Hungarian sweet; Penzey's has it)
1 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. red-wine vinegar
1/4 c. tomato paste
5 c. beef broth
5 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 red bell peppers, chopped fine (I am cheap and used green bells)
4 large russet (baking) potatoes (Yukon Golds will work well, also)

In an 8-quart heavy kettle cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. In fat remaining in kettle brown chuck in small batches over high heat, transferring it as browned with slotted spoon to bowl.

Reduce heat to moderate and add oil. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in paprika, caraway seeds, and flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in vinegar and tomato paste and cook, whisking, 1 minute. (Mixture will be very thick.) Stir in broth, water, salt, bell peppers, bacon, and chuck and bring to a boil, stirring. Simmer soup, covered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes.

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add potatoes to soup and simmer, covered, occasionally until tender, about 30 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper. Soup may be made 3 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat soup, thinning with water if desired.

9 comments:

Snooky doodle said...

surely this looks comforting for a winter night :) Thanks for sharing this nice recipe. Photos are amazing.

Snooky doodle said...

surely this looks comforting for a winter night :) Thanks for sharing this nice recipe. Photos are amazing.

Madeline said...

Haha, I'm glad you mentioned using green bell peppers instead of red. My boyfriend picked up some red bells for me the other day and of course he didn't look at the price...$6.50 cents later for TWO peppers!

Anyhow :) I love goulash and especially like the sound of the caraway seeds. I must try this recipe.

Rachel Hoke said...

I've been all over the internet looking for an Austrian Goulash Soup recipe and I found it! I plan to make it on Friday - in a crock pot. I'll let you know. I was in Austria about 10 years ago skiing and we had Goulash Suppe nearly every day on the slopes. It was unforgettable! I can validate that you can pretty much find it anywhere on the autobahn. It's a staple there and a fantastic hearty flavorful soup!

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Anonymous said...

It looks amazingly delicious, thanks for sharing this one, I'm going to try it this weekend for some friends that are coming to visit me.
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Evan said...

Great recipe, thanks for sharing!

I added 2 celery stalks, substituted one cup of water for beef broth (3 cans = 6 cups), and added a bit of red wine.

Regardless of my additions, this is a great goulash recipe!

arapriest said...

How many servings is this?

Michelle said...

I just found your recipe on Google. I can tell you that the autobahn story is probably true. We lived on this soup when we were in Austria. Every cafe served it and we enjoyed it with a crusty Kaiser roll & a stein of beer. Thanks for posting this. I can't wait to make it!