The authentic Hungarian peasant stew-soup, simmered low and slow in a rich, crimson sauce flavored with sweet paprika and caraway seeds.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg Charolais beef chuck for braising
- 600 g French yellow onions
- 50 g farmhouse pork lard
- 3 tbsp Hungarian noble sweet paprika (édesnemes) powder
- 1 tsp whole wild caraway seeds
- 4 cloves white garlic cloves
- 2 pieces long sweet green peppers
- 2 pieces fresh field-grown round tomatoes
- 600 g Charlotte waxy potatoes
- 300 g fresh sand-grown carrots
- 150 g fresh parsnip root
- 1.5 l filtered water
- to taste coarse grey sea salt
- to taste Kampot black peppercorns
Method
- Cut the beef chuck into even cubes of about three centimeters, then carefully pat the meat dry with paper towels to remove any surface moisture.
- Peel and finely mince the yellow onions. Peel and crush the garlic cloves with a garlic press. Coarsely crush the caraway seeds in a mortar to release their aromas.
- Place a Dutch oven over low heat and melt the farmhouse pork lard until it becomes translucent and fluid.
- Add the minced onions to the hot fat and let them sweat patiently for about fifteen minutes, stirring regularly with a spatula, until they become very tender and golden, without burning them.
- It is crucial to remove the Dutch oven from the heat source. Sprinkle the noble sweet paprika over the melted onions, stir for ten seconds to dissolve the aromas in the warm fat, then immediately pour in a splash of filtered water to instantly stop the paprika from cooking and prevent any bitter notes.
- Return the Dutch oven to medium heat, add the beef chuck cubes, crushed garlic, crushed caraway, a generous pinch of coarse sea salt and ground black pepper. Stir briskly so that each piece of meat is coated in the onion and paprika base.
- Gently brown for about ten minutes, stirring constantly, until the surface of the meat turns pale and releases its first natural juices.
- Blanch the fresh tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for thirty seconds before refreshing them under cold water. Peel them, remove the seeds and crush the flesh. Seed the green bell peppers and cut them into small, even dice.
- Pour the crushed tomatoes and diced bell peppers into the Dutch oven, then pour in filtered water until the meat is fully submerged. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover tightly, reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and simmer for about one and a half hours, until the beef yields tenderly to the tip of a knife.
- While simmering, peel the carrots, parsnip and potatoes. Slice the carrots and parsnip into thick rounds, then cut the potatoes into chunks roughly the same size as the meat cubes.
- Plunge the carrot and parsnip rounds into the simmering crimson broth, cover and continue cooking for ten minutes.
- Next, add the potato chunks, then continue cooking over very low heat for twenty to twenty-five minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the broth takes on a beautiful, satiny consistency.
- Taste the cooking liquid, adjust the seasoning with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then turn off the heat. Let the covered Dutch oven rest for about ten minutes to allow the flavors to harmonize before serving in warm, deep bowls.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 524.7 kcal
- Protein
- 45.82 g
- Carbohydrate
- 41.33 g
- Fat
- 20.66 g
- Fibre
- 8.67 g
- Calcium
- 34.93 mg
- Iron
- 1.43 mg
- Magnesium
- 21.88 mg
