When I was in Budapest, Hungary

I booked a cooking class with ChefParade, www.chefparade.hu/en/home, Sas Street 21, 5th District, Budapest, Hungary, +36 203161876, info@cookingbudapest.com,. Along with Chef Geri Hajas there was only one other participant.  The lesson included three recipes including goulash which, in America, has become a generic term for any one pot concoction but the word gulyás, commonly written goulash, means “cowboy” in Hungarian. The Great Hungarian Plain is home of the Hungarian cowboy who predate the American Cowboy. 

The original dish called borgácsgulyás was a stew, not a soup. Nowadays the dish served in Hungarian restaurants and homes alike is more like a soup. There are different variations of recipe. Originally made with beef, but often mixed meats are used. Typical cuts may include shank, leg or shoulder: as a result, goulash derives its thickness from tough muscles rich in collagen, which is converted to gelatin during the cooking process.

The class included sampling Hungarian alcoholic brewages

including Unicum, a Hungarian herbal liqueur or bitters, drunk as a digestif. The liqueur is today produced according to a secret formula of more than forty herbs; the drink is aged in oak casks. Dr Zwack, the royal physician, created a mixture in 1790 for Joseph II, the Habsburg ruler who had a digestion disorder, so the royal physician tried to cure him with the help of herbs. The emperor shouted after drinking it: “Dr. Zwack, this is unique!” Hence the name Unicum. However, the Hapsburg ruler died shortly thereafter. It has a bitter herbal taste and the best I can say is that it is an acquired taste.

Hungarian Goulash

2 tbsp lard or oil of your choice, animal fat is best
1 onion, minced
1 tbsp sweet paprika powder (optional - mix in some hot paprika)
1 tsp ground caraway seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp tbsp ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound beef – cut into bite-size pieces
1 tomato – cubed
1 Hungarian sweet yellow pepper, or yellow bell pepper, cubed
1 large carrot, cubed
1 parsnip, peal and cubed
½ (one-half) celeriac root, peeled and diced (or one-half cup diced celery, Celeriac is a root vegetable closely related to celery). 

2 large potatoes with skins, cubed
Water as needed
¼ (one-fourth) cup “csipetke” pasta which is dumpling-kind of pasta or the pasta of your choice.

Sauté onions in lard (pork fat) on medium heat until it starts getting soft but brown.
Remove the pot from the fire, wait one minute then add the paprika powder. Mix. Pour some water to it but just a little at a time. The goal is to make a base. Return to heat. Add and sauté the meat

along with the spices (salt, pepper, bay leaves, caraway seeds and the garlic). Sauté for about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and the sweet yellow pepper. Add enough water to cover ingredients. Cover and cook at a slow boil for 1.5 hours. When the meat is about half cooked, add the rest of the vegetables. Add more water as needed to get a soup-like

consistency, and keep cooking at a slow boil. When the meat is almost cooked, add potato cubes and more water if necessary. Continue cooking until potatoes are cooked. 

About 10 -15 minutes before it is finished, add the “csipetke” pasta or the pasta of your choice. Serve with fresh bread.

Tip of the day: If you add sparkling water the meat will cook in half the time!