Segedínský Guláš, aka Hungarian Goulash with Sauerkraut

Goulash

I love Goulash. Either as a soup or as a stew like this one or just meat, sauce and noodles. If you talk to a Hungarian, a real Gulash only has 4 ingredients: pork, water, paprika powder and fresh peppers.

This reminds me of a very important fact: my first time making goulash in the USA, well, let's just say I did not know that much about cooking and spices at the time. We were at my mother-in-laws house and I used the only red pepper looking ingredient I could find. Guess I should have read the label, because it was Cheyenne pepper!!!!!!! Needless to say, it turned out rather spicy. We added potatoes, turned it into a thin soup, added whipping cream and finally noodles but in the end no one could eat it. So make sure your paprika is paprika!

Where were we? Ah yea, back to our post: This particular goulash recipe is from an area not too far from Romania. It has a rich, creamy consistency, and intense flavor. Serve it with a piece of fresh bread, perfect for a cold winter day.

This is what you need for about 4 people:

3 medium onions

1 pound of pork (cubed into bite sized pieces)

3-4 Tablespoons of Paprika (NOT Cheyenne pepper) :)

1 medium carrot finely shredded

1/2 of a leak, finely shredded

1 stalk celery finely shredded

garlic to taste

4 cups boiling water

salt pepper to taste

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups Sour Kraut

1 cup sliced cabanossies or any smoked sausage of your choice. The spicy mexican kind is yummy as well.

Let's get started!!!!

In a large pot, brown the onions in an oil of your choice.

Add the meat and brown thoroughly. The "burned' part of this dish is what will give you the flavor, in Germany we call this roasting aroma.

Add 1/2 stick of margarine and add the vegetables. I shred them in a mini blender as small as I can. If you do not want to do this, use instant vegetable broth.

Add the paprika and the tomato paste, stiring the entire time. You want the aromas to unfold but you do not want it burnt burnt!

Add 4 cups of boiling water. The water needs to be super hot, so you do not stop the cooking process. Trust me, I tried with luke warm water it it just doesn't taste the same. This is where I add the shredded garlic. You can usually find this in a glass jar.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now let if simmer for about 45 min to soften up the meat and to get the veggies all nice and soft. This will form a thick sauce.

In the meantime, drain and rinse the Sauerkraut. Some sauerkraut, especially the ones in cans, can be very vinegary. Drain it and rinse until it is the level of sour you like. Let it sit in a strainer to get rid of excess liquids.

About 45 min into the cooking process, I add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and let it simmer for another 15 min.

Add the rinsed Sour Kraut and the sausage , let sit for about 10 min.

Taste it one more time and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

A slice of good bread is incredible with it or just serve it by itself.