Crock-Pot Goulash

This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago, while we still had lots of snow. Slow cookers, in this case a Crock-Pot, are fairly new in Sweden as opposed to the US where they’ve been on the market since the 70s. The food is cooked very slowly on a low temperature while you’re at work or do other stuff. I’ve been experimenting with a Crock-Pot lately and I’ve had lots of fun so far. The first thing I decided to do was a cross between soup and stew. It’s not authentical nor 100 % Hungarian, but I still call it a goulash. In the morning, before work, I loaded the Crock-Pot with my chosen ingredients and I set it on low for 8,5 hours. After all those hours it automatically switched to just keep the stew/soup warm until we we were ready for dinner. Some people prefer to brown their meat before adding it to the slow cooker, but seriously, I will not brown meat in the morning while still being half asleep. At that time of the day I can hardly drink a cup of coffee. So I just threw everything in the pot and let it cook. The result was a hearty delicious soup/stew that we ate with newly baked baguettes. Absolutely amazing and I still can’t believe that all I had to do was to chop the ingredients. I was bit afraid that the potatoes would be over cooked, but they were perfect! Crock-Pot Goulash 900 gram beef chuck (högrev in Swedish) 2 yellow onions 2 Italian peppers (spetspaprika in Swedish) 6 potatoes, peeled 4 garlic cloves 1 tsp thyme 2 tsp pimenton de la vera (smoked paprika), mild 1 tbsp paprika 1 tbsp tomato puree 1,5 tsp ancho 2 tsp chipotle chili paste 2 bay leaves 1 can of crushed tomatoes 800 ml stock (preferably home made) salt pepper Cut the meat, potatoes and peppers in large dices. Chop the onions. Finely chop or grate the garlic. Put all ingredients in a Crock-Pot and let cook on low temperature for 8,5 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh bread. I took this photo just before I started the Crock-Pot.