A rich, paprika beef stew for two.

Some dishes can hold some amazing memories. Whether it’s a Sunday roast made by your mum, a Thai noodle dish reminding you of an epic travelling holiday or crispy fish and chips that can almost make you taste the salt of Cornish sea air.

For me, the favours of a rich beef goulash stew transport me right back to the wintery, snowy streets in the centre of Prague. Wrapped in cosy red blankets with portable heaters roaring, and the constant bustle of tourists outside the Astronomical Clock beside us, Dan and I celebrated my birthday over some sort of limoncello shots and a heart beef goulash served in a gigantic bread cob.

It was incredible.

And something I never thought I could recreate even with my best attempts… but I do like a challenge.

This is a perfect alternative to a Sunday roast, as most of the hard work is over within a few minutes. You can let the goulash simmer away on the hob without a care in the world (almost) and only one pan to wash up!

Beef goulash is actually traced back to the 9th Century, and often is made into more a soup like consistency rather than a stew. This recipe leans more towards a stew, so it’s a little more sturdy to ladle into a crusty bread cob and swirl with sour cream.

And just before we get started, I want to acknowledge the amount of paprika in this recipe. It may seem excessive but paprika is the star of the show in beef goulash – you’ll be wow’ed I PROMISE.

Recipe ingredients

• 400g diced beef
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 160g white potatoes
• 90g fresh plum tomatoes
• 70g (one) carrot
• 50g (one stalk) celery
• Half a large white onion
• 400ml beef stock
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons of sweet smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• Salt & pepper

Cooking utensils

• 1 large saucepan / casserole dish
• Sharp knives
• Sieve
• Wooden spoon
• Ladle
• 1 bowl
• Chopping board

1. Let’s prep first. Dice your carrot, celery, garlic and onion – popping the carrot and celery aside together, whilst leaving the onion on its own.
2. Halve your fresh plum tomatoes and set aside.
3. Peel your potatoes and cube – rinsing off in a sieve to remove extra starch.
4. Pop your beef into a bowl, dust with flour and season with some salt and pepper.
5. Begin melting the butter in your pan and tip in your onion. Add all of the paprika and fennel, letting the seasonings coat the onion. Fry for about a minute before pushing the onion right to the side of the pan.
6. Add your beef to the pan and sear it, until each chunk gets a lovely golden crust around the outside.
7. Tip in the rest of your vegetables and the garlic, stirring often and frying off for 2 minutes.
8. Now the hard work is almost over. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and beef stock, before adding the cubed potatoes, fresh tomatoes and bay leaves.
9. Give everything a real good stir and season. Bring it to the boil and then let the goulash simmer on low for 1 hour and 20 minutes with the lid on. I like to stir every now and then, and taste for seasoning.
10. After 1 hour and 20 minutes, take the lid off and simmer for another 40 minutes. Don’t forget to fish out the bay leaves when you’re done.
11. Just before the goulash is ready, you want to take a good bread knife and cut out a hole in each of your bread cobs, scraping out some of the bread to make them a little more hollow.
12. Pop your bread cob bowls onto a plate or in a pasta bowl (just in case) and ladle in your beef goulash. As one final garnish, swirl in a tablespoon of sour cream and dig in.

Tasty tips!

• Paprika is incredibly important to this recipe so I really urge you to make sure you use the sweet, smoked paprika over normal. You can often find Hungarian paprika on Amazon!
• This is a perfect recipe to batch make and bring to work the next day. Your coworkers will be incredibly jealous when you whack this in the microwave.
• Want to jazz it up a little? Treat yourself by smearing a little garlic butter at the bottom of your bread cob and oven bake for 8 minutes before spooning in your goulash.