The base is beef goulash/beef shank and lots of sautéed onion, even some more raw onion to serve it with. Beef Goulash is traditionally made as a scrumptious thick saucy meat served with bread dumplings. To flavour up the meat, Czechs usually use some garlic, marjoram, cumin and tomato purée. The only thing you might miss is a cold Czech lager.
If you seek some more Prague inspiration, check out my Czech culinary specials here. Dobrou chuť!
Prague Beef Goulash is suitable for kids from the age of 3. The better products, the better meal!
Total Time: 45 minutes + 2 hours of cooking the stew
Shopping List
1kg of good quality beef shank, in chunks
A pinch of black pepper
1 tablespoon of plain flour
A splash of olive oil
3-4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika
A pinch of ground cumin, marjoram, chili
2 cloves of garlic, crushed, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
1 litre of good beef stock
Kosher salt
The Bread Dumplings as per in my Czech Beef Roast Recipe:
10g of fresh yeast
A mug of lukewarm milk
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
500g of coarse flour, sifted
A pinch of sea salt
1 egg
1 Kaiser roll, finely chopped
A knob of lard
Instructions
The Goulash
Place the chunks of beef into a non sticking casserole pan. Season with black pepper. Sprinkle with some flour and olive oil. Heat up the pan on high heat and roast the meat for about 4 minutes until it gets beautifully golden. Then, take it out and set aside.
Shallots in. Flavour up with paprika, cumin, marjoram, chili and garlic. Let it smell out and return the beef back to the pan. Mix.
Next, stir in the tomato purée and pour in the stock. Reduce.
Lower the heat and cover with a lid. Let it simmer until the meat will be incredibly tender, for about 2 hours. Taste and season with salt if needed.
The Bread Dumplings
Meanwhile, activate the yeast. Sprinkle it into a mug filled with lukewarm milk. Add a bit of sugar and mix. Let it become bubbly for about 10 minutes in a warm place.
In a large wide bowl sieve the flour. Stir in the salt and make a well in the middle. Place the egg in the well and add yeast with some milk.
Start kneading a smooth and non sticking dough. Cover with a clean cloth and let it sit for about 15 minutes in a warm place.
Next, knead some more and add the chopped bread. Sprinkle with some flour and let it rise for 30 more minutes.
Afterwards, divide the dough into 2 parts and cook in a large pot of salted hot boiling water, similarly to pasta.
Cook for about 15 minutes, turning in the half time. Once they are done, take them out and poke with a skewer. Massage a knob of lard on their surface and slice.
Presentation
Place the Beef Goulash with 3-4 slices of the bread dumplings and add enough of the marvelous sauce. Decorate with some raw onion and fresh parsley. Enjoy with a cold (Czech) beer!
Makes 5 serves.
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