Goulash with Pappardelle and Sour Cream

(not my picture)

I had goulash in Budapest once. Terrific. The one I always remember though was late one night with friends on a road trip at a little restaurant just over the Austria/Hungary border, accompanied by glasses of schnapps and gypsy violins. When buying the meat, be sure to get beef skirt, or if not, beef shin and this rich robust dish will melt in your mouth. Use a full bodied red wine too, like Hungarian Bull's Blood. Here's how I do it:

INGREDIENTS

• Beef skirt, 500g cubed
• Onion 1 large, chopped
• Garlic 1 tbs puree or about 4 cloves minced
• Caraway seeds, 2 tsp ground
• Flour
• Red wine – 1/3 bottle
• Tomato puree
• Olive oil
• Paprika
• Dried herbs
• Salt & Pepper
• Parsley to garnish
• PLUS: Pappardelle pasta (or tagliatelle) and sour cream

METHOD

1. Dust the beef in seasoned flour, caraway, and paprika.
2. Brown the onions in the oil – add the garlic, 2 mins and remove.
3. Brown the beef 3 mins and remove.
4. De-glaze the pan with the wine. Boil for 5 mins.
5. Return onions and beef to the pan with tom puree, more paprika, salt and dried herbs. 
6. Top up to cover with water. Bring back to the boil and adjust seasoning.
7. Cover with a lid, and place in a 160 C oven for 3 hours. 
8. Check each hour and adjust flavour. 
9. Leave off the lid for a while at the end if significant reduction is needed.
10. Cook the pasta in lots of salted water
11. Pile up pasta, then goulash, sour cream, chopped parsley on top