Рецепт Chile Peppers Flavor European Cuisine.
Paprika, a savory red
spice used in a variety of dishes such
as paprikash, paella, deviled eggs, soups, sauces, and a most popular European
dish, goulash. While it is easy purchase
at the local market, or online; what is paprika, and why does it make foods
taste so good?
Traveling back to the 15th
century, explorers from Spain made their way to, what we now call, Mexico and
Brazil. In these countries were found a
variety of chile peppers, from the mildest in heat and flavor, to the hottest
that must have come from pits of lava.
Bringing plants back to the Old World, the plants were cultivated, not
just for culinary use, but ornamental as well.
Now who were the specialists who cultivated these pepper plants, and
discovered their many uses? Monks, men
devoted to religion, highly educated, the scholars of their time.
By the 16th to
17th century, chile pepper plants were making their way throughout
Europe. In Spain, the peppers were
placed upon an open grate which was placed over a smoky oak fire. In Hungary, the peppers were sun dried; but
either method dried out the peppers completely.
Then they were ground into a fine powder, ready to be sprinkled onto
bread or lard; or measured out into soups and stews. Sweet, bittersweet and hot are the primary
intensities of paprika, and that is dependent upon which types of peppers are
used (single type, or a combination of types).
When someone hears the
term “goulash”, the mind usually clicks onto Hungarian Goulash. A simple stew of beef, onions, water and
lard, cooked over an open fire, by cattle herdsmen. Then came paprika, and a new taste was added
to the stew. By the 18th century, goulash became a staple at inns,
filling the bellies of weary travelers.
The stew itself was changed by adding carrots, sometimes potatoes, from
the back gardens. Add freshly baked,
crusty bread plus a tankard of the inn’s best brew, and the travelers went to
sleep sated.
As leaner, and more
costly, cuts of meat began to be used in restaurants, the wealthy were
introduced to a “high class” dish procured from a peasant recipe. In the 1800s, immigration to the United
States allowed Hungarians to, not just bring their cultural traditions, but
also their recipes. As they emigrated
across North America, trading and interacting with other cultures, and using
“American food sources”, traditional goulash developed into a variety of
recipes.
“Mexican Goulash”
contains, not only, beef, but chorizo, and those wonderful chile peppers the
Spanish explorers discovered back in the 15th century. So, whomever said, “You can’t go home again.”
certainly was not referring to the foods of the world.
As to a recipe, I will be
giving you my own take on the classic Hungarian Goulash, with a bit of
influence from my Croatian ancestors.
While it cooks up perfectly in a stove top skillet, I personally find
that the Dutch oven method makes the meat more tender, sauce thicker, and
overall flavor more savory. It does take
about three hours to cook, and with prep work, the entire meal can take about
four hours to complete, but is worth the work and the wait. Due to the low and slow cooking technique,
cheaper cuts of beef, such as a chuck roast, can be used, and the meat comes
out so tender, it will taste, well, as Guy Fieri says, “That’s money right
there!”.
A huge thank you to Amy
Watkins Kensley, and her son Michael, for giving me a beautiful Dutch oven last
Christmas. With it, I have been able to
create meals, and breads, that put stovetop, or other baking techniques, to
shame. Thank you, am sad that this
Covid-19 is keeping us from our family meal times, and holiday
celebrations. For everyone, let us all
feel positive that 2021 will find us healthier, happier and most importantly, wiser.
Beef Goulash
Ingredients:
4 lbs. beef chuck roast,
cut into 1-inch pieces (leaner cut of beef can be used)½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup olive oil, divided
in half.
1 large white onion,
chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper,
seeded and chopped
1 and ½ Tbsp. minced
garlic
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. baby carrots, cut in
half, at an angle
1 (15 oz.) can diced
tomatoes, drained
4 Tbsp. sweet paprika
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
2 cups beef stock or broth
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire
sauce
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
½ cup half and half
1 cup sour cream
Cooked egg noodles or
mashed potatoes to serve over.
Preparation:
Place the pieces of the beef
into a large bowl, add flour and coat meat.
In a large skillet, in two batches, brown the meat in the olive oil (1/2
portion of olive oil for each batch), over medium-high heat. Drain on paper towels and place meat into
large, clean bowl.
At the same time as meat
is browning, in the Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat; add onions, bell
pepper and garlic, coat with melted butter and cook for 15 minutes to soften
vegetables, but do not brown. Also, in a
medium sauce pan, parboil carrots, over medium-high heat, to soften, then
strain.
Preheat oven to 275F;
lightly spray Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray (manufacturer’s
instructions recommend this).
Into the Dutch oven, add
the parboiled carrots, softened vegetables, and browned beef. In a medium size bowl, whisk together
paprika, black pepper, tomato paste, beef stock or broth, Worcestershire sauce,
and red wine vinegar. Pour liquid oven meat and vegetables, mix thoroughly
together, place lid on and cook for 2 and ½ hours in oven.
Carefully remove Dutch
oven, and remove lid (careful, it will be very hot!), stir contents. In a small bowl, stir together half and half
with sour cream to form a loose paste, and mix into goulash. Set lid back on, place back into oven for
another ½ hour; cook egg noodles or mashed potatoes during this half hour, and
all will be ready to eat at the same time.
For stove top:
Follow instructions except
for preheating oven, or coating Dutch oven.
Use a 6-quart cooking pot, or very deep skillet, set on low heat, but
cook for 3 and ½ hours, add loose paste, and cook additional ½ hour while
preparing noodles or potatoes. With this
method, stir mixture every half hour to keep foods from sticking to bottom and
sides of pot or skillet.
Makes 10-12 servings (or
8-10 if you live in my home, with two very hungry men who love my cooking).Mary Cokenour