Healthy Eats: Goulash

When I went backpacking around Europe in 2001, I remember really enjoying the food in Hungary and especially the goulash! Ever since then I’ve made my own using a traditional recipe that I’ve tweaked here and there. It only occurred to me the other day that it’s actually a really healthy meal. You can team it with brown/wholegrain rice, quinoa or even wholegrain tagliatelle for a really filling meal. The sauce is rich, tomatoey and oh so delicious!

Ingredients:

• 0.7lbs lean beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 closed cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 red peppers (one green, one red), chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 2 heaped teaspoons paprika
• 1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons caraway seeds (ground)
• 1 cups low-sodium beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 can chopped tomatoes or passata
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/3 cup chopped, parsley

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a large pot. Add mushrooms, onions, peppers, garlic, and salt; cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft (15 minutes).

2. Push vegetables aside, add beef cubes, turning meat occasionally, until brown. Push beef aside. Add paprika, salt and pepper, flour, and caraway seeds. Stir and cook for about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef stock, then tomato paste and chopped tomatoes/passata and bay leaf.

3. Cover and simmer over low until meat is tender (1 1/2 hours) or for super tender meat, pop it in a slow cooker for 6-7 hours. This really develops all the flavours and makes it taste really rich. It’s the best way to cook it in my opinion! When it’s ready, remove the bay leaf and stir in the parsley. Serve with your side of choice, with reduced fat sour cream drizzled over the top and a dash of paprika.