Beef goulash with light, fluffy dumplings. Central European goulash, a beef stew with Hungarian paprika, onions, tomato paste, cubed chuck roast, herbs and stock.

Ingredients

Goulash

·       2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

·       2 large onions, thinly sliced (about 4 cups sliced onions)

·       1 tablespoon sugar

·       3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

·       1 tablespoon caraway seeds, toasted and ground

·       6 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika

·       1 teaspoon spicy Hungarian paprika

·       2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram or oregano (or 1 tablespoon dried)

·       1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

·       1 bay leaf

·       3 tablespoons tomato paste

·       2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

·       4 cups chicken stock

·       2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes (trimmed of excess fat)

·       1 teaspoon kosher salt

·       1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dumplings

·       2 cups cake flour

·       2 teaspoons baking powder

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       3/4 cup milk

·       2 tablespoons melted butter

Method

1. Cook the onions, add garlic and caraway:

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the onions, sprinkle with sugar, and cook, stirring often, until the onions are browned and caramelized, about 20 minutes.

If the onions at any point look like they are drying out in the pan, lower the heat.

Add the minced garlic and ground toasted caraway seeds and cook a minute more.

2. Add spices:

Sprinkle with the sweet and spicy paprikas and toss to coat. Stir in the marjoram, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook for another minute, until fragrant.

3. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the vinegar and stock and deglaze the pan:

Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. Add the cubed beef:

and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring the whole mixture to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat to low to maintain a simmer.

Cover and cook until the beef is falling apart tender, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

5. Make the dumplings:

To prepare the dumplings, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Combine with the milk and melted butter, mixing lightly.

6. Drop dumplings into stew:

After the stew has cooked until tender in step 4, drop the dumpling batter by (heaping) teaspoonfuls into the simmering stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Once you have covered the pan, do not uncover while the dumplings are cooking! In order for them to be light and fluffy, they must steam. If you uncover the pan, the steam will escape and the dumplings will boil instead.

After 15 minutes, test the dumplings with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the dumplings are done.