Recipes – № 33
Beef Goulash, Pasta and Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts
As the tantalizing smells of caramelized onions, roasted paprika, caraway and beef fill my kitchen, I always find it difficult not to taste my simmering goulash so many times, that I make a serious dent in the supply by dinner time. I have to remind myself that this work in progress gets even better if I just manage to wait for the flavors to meld, for the meat to become tender and for the stew to thicken a little. On the rare occasion that there are leftovers the next day, they taste better still. I have learned through experience that making way too much goulash is just enough.
This recipe is for a particularly dark, fragrant and deeply flavored goulash. It’s irresistible served with nothing but a slice or two of crusty sourdough bread served as an appetizer or a light lunch or supper. I like to turn it into more of a meal though by scooping the goulash over some pasta, another ideal companion for the big flavors in this stew. I’m not the first to have that idea: Hungarians, Austrians, Czechs and Germans often serve goulash with egg noodles such as spätzle, or dumplings. I also scatter some pan-seared Brussels sprouts on top. This is a less traditional maneuver but I find they pair well with goulash and round out the dish.
I’ve adapted the recipe for the goulash part of this dish from a yellowed newspaper clipping I’ve had for many years. I don’t remember for sure, but I believe the author was NYC’s preeminent Austrian chef Kurt Gutenbrunner and it might have been published in the Wall Street Journal.
Serves 8
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp olive oil
3 onions
6 garlic cloves
6 Tbsp sweet paprika
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp ground caraway seeds. If you have whole caraway seeds, use a coffee grinder.
1 ½ Tbps chopped marjoram from about 4 twigs, or 1 ½ tsp dried marjoram
2 tsp chopped thyme leaves from about 3 twigs, or 2/3 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 lbs stew beef
1 lb waxy yellow potatoes, such as Yukon gold potatoes or German butter ball potatoes
Juice of ½ lemon (2-3 Tbsp)
1 ½ lbs fusilli (white or whole wheat)
1 ½ lbs Brussels sprouts
Peel and finely dice the onions. Heat a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onions in a ¼ cup of olive oil, stirring often, until the onions are golden brown, around 15-20 minutes. While the onions are cooking, mince the garlic, chop the marjoram and thyme leaves (if using fresh herbs) and cut the stew beef into ¾ inch cubes. When the onions are done (i.e. golden brown), add the garlic to the pot and sauté for one more minute. Add the sweet paprika and sauté for another minute. Next, add the tomato paste, caraway, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves, vinegar, beef, salt and 7 cups of water (or 8 cups of water if you intend to eat this goulash as a soup with bread). Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile peel and dice the potatoes into ¾ inch cubes. Add the potatoes to the pot and simmer for another 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice. Taste for salt and add as needed.
As the goulash cooks, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil for the fusilli and prepare the Brussels sprouts according to my linked recipe. Boil the pasta according to the package instructions, until al dente. Drain, and toss with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and more salt as needed. Time both the Brussels sprouts and the fusilli so that they are done just as the goulash is.
Serve everything family-style at the table or assemble individual bowls or soup plates by ladling goulash over the fusilli and sprinkling each plate with some pan-seared Brussels sprouts. Note that the consistency of this goulash is somewhere in between a soup and a pasta sauce and accordingly you’ll want to serve more liquid with the pasta than if it was a sauce, but not submerge all the pasta in the goulash.
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