Yor’s stew

Adapted from Luisa Weis’s Wiener Gulasch recipe from Classic German Cooking.

I’ve included two different methods to make this.

Ingredients

  • 1kg stewing beef
  • 350 mL water
  • 1 tbsp baking soda
  • 1kg onion
  • 60 mL neutral flavoured oil
  • 1 large carrot
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 tbsp “sweet” paprika
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tsp marjoram or 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds (crushed)
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 tbsp corn or potato starch
  • Sour cream to taste (optional)

Steps

Prep

  1. Combine baking soda and water before pouring over the beef and stirring. Marinate in the fridge for 45 min.
  2. Dice the onions into 1/8/-1/4 inch pieces.
  3. Mince the garlic.
  4. Peel and cut the carrots into rolling wedges.

Stovetop

  1. Add oil to a medium-sized pot. When the oil heats, sautee onions for 5 min on med-high heat until transparent.
  2. Add garlic and salt before sautéing for another 5 min. Reduce to low.
  3. Add paprika and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and stir well. Add majoram/oregano and caraway and stir for another well.
  4. Drain, rinse, and pat the beef dry. Add to the pot and stir well.
  5. Pour the beef broth, stir well, and raise the heat from high. (If you are lazy like I am, you can add the beef stock cube and water to the pot and stir well).
  6. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 2-3 hours while stiring occasionally.

Pressure cooker

  1. Press the sear/saute button on your pressure cooker. When the inner pot is hot, add in the oil.
  2. Sautee onions until transparent.
  3. Add garlic and salt before sautéing for another 5 min. Reduce to low.
  4. Add paprika and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and stir well. Add majoram/oregano and caraway and stir for another well.
  5. Drain, rinse, and pat the beef dry. Add to the pot and stir well.
  6. Pour the beef broth and stir well. (If you are lazy like I am, you can add the beef stock cube and water to the pot and stir well).
  7. Cover and lock the lid. Set the pressure level to high and cook for 45-60 minutes.
  8. Let the pressure release naturally for 30 minutes. If the valve hasn’t dropped yet, move the pressure release valve to “venting”.

Serving the gulash (both stovetop and pressure cooker)

  1. Thicken the gravy by adding starch in a small bowl, mixing it with 3 tbsp of the gulasch gravy until well-combined, and adding/mixing the slurry back into the pot.
  2. Remove from the heat. If using sour cream, add it here.
  3. Serve each dish with a whole boiled potato or boiled/roasted potato chunks, a sunny-side up egg, and sausage octopi (if using them).

Notes

  • If you have a pestle and motar, crush the caraway seeds with that. Otherwise, use a rolling pin and a sandwich bag.
  • Camilla mentions how people in Yor’s home region might add sour cream to their stew. I didn’t add it to to the initial batch, but I did add it to an individual serving the next day. It makes the stew taste slightly creamy without the sour taste.
  • Don’t add the sour cream if you plan on freezing the batch. Otherwise the mixture will curdle.