Millbrookian Goulash

A Main MealHungarian in origin, here given a minor Cornish twist by dint of the fact that I make it in Cornwall.

here's a podcast of the recipe as broadcast on Simon Pauley's Morning Mix http://www.insightradio.co.uk/ (SKY channel 0188 / Freesat channel 777)

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This is a Millbrooker Towers favourite so the quantities of ingredients tend to alter according to what I find in the cupboard. Traditionally made with beef (or occasionally mutton) this works with almost any meat. I've used sausages, hog's pudding, ham trimmings - just experiment, what can go wrong?

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Ingredients:
a spot of oil or butter
a couple of onions
a couple of crushed garlic cloves
half a kilo of braising steak and/or beef skirt chopped into bite sized chunks four rashers of streaky bacon chopped up
half a dozen tomatoes roughly chopped
a handful of sliced mushrooms
a big chopped up green pepper
a teaspoon of whole caraway seeds
a teaspoon each of dried basil, dried oregano and dried sage
a couple of dried bay leaves
2 BIG tablespoons of paprika
a beef stock cube
about 150 ml of water
a tub of crème fraîche (about 200ml or a spot more)
plenty of freshly ground black pepper
some chopped fresh parsley to garnish.

What to do:

In a casserole dish lightly fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes.
Brown the meat and plonk it into the onion and garlic mix.
Add all the other ingredients except the crème fraîche and parsley. Mix well.
Bring the whole lot to simmering point on the hob.
Cover the pot, stick it in the oven at gas 3 - 4 (175-200C) for 2 hours (or more, it's one of those dishes that doesn't go off if it's cooked for longer than strictly necessary). Take it out of the oven and give it a good stir after about an hour - add more liquid if necessary.
Just before serving, dollop the crème fraîche into the pot and stir well. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top to make it look pretty.

Serve with a helping of mashed or boiled potatoes on the side.

Sit back and listen to your guests make slurping noises and demanding second helpings as they do lots of guzzling.

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To drink? A good slurp of cool, strong lager works very well; an east european Pilsner, such as Pilsner Urquell is ideal. For wine, I'd go for a full-bodied red along the lines of the traditional Hungarian Bull's Blood.