Jump to Recipe

John’s grandmother Johanna Thoma was a master chef. Born in Hungary, she was an expert Goulash maker. My Hungarian Goulash isn’t as good, but I try to recreate that taste. The secret to a good Goulash is the Paprika. Like other recipes it has simple ingredients and is hearty. A little bit goes a long way. Johanna served it with noodles and creamed beets. I am trying to also recreate those beets. This is a very simple basic Goulash. You can also add carrots and potatoes to it if you like, but it is best served this way with your choice of vegetables on the side.

The fun about cooking is to make it your own. I often say that recipes are guides and it is true in every way. For example, if you don’t have or like beef, try chicken. I have also made this with firm fish such as cod. Whatever brings your family to the table, then do it. The table is a place where we gather to share memories of the past and make new ones in the moment. With the hectic holiday season approaching, this is a great dish to make on a cold wintery day.

Another great comforting dish on the blog https://recipesatmytable.com/rouladen/

Process

I like to have all my ingredients “mise en place” and then it is easygoing.

I fried the beef in the olive il until browned. Then I put it on a plate.

In the same frying pan, I added the onion and garlic for a few minutes. Next, the star of the dish,the paprika goes in. Now, it is time to add the flour and stir. This will thicken the gravy.

Now it is time for the tomatoes, tomato paste and broth. When everything comes to a boil, it goes into an oven proof dish and into the oven at 300F for 2 hours.

Out it comes and I add in the red pepper which I finely sliced. Into the oven again it goes for 30 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, add in the sour cream. Sprinkle with parsley and add some freshly ground black pepper.

Beautifully plated with a potato carrot mash. You can also serve it with noodles or spaetzle.

Beef Pot Pie uses my Sicilian style spetzzatino and turns in into a comfort dish. For Italians spetzzatino is any type of meat cut into cubes and cooked into stew form. We cook it in different ways. Sometimes we add potatoes. Typically other vegetables add flavour. My mom makes an excellent one with only onions and beef. The sauce turns into a brown, velvety and thick show piece. As a result, we use bread to sop up every last bite. Today I like to use a pie shell in place of the bread.

Know Where Your Meat Comes From

Today the star of my dish is the beef. I have my local butcher cut it and it is exquisite. He sources all the meat locally and I know we are eating top quality beef. Our local beef is supplemented with organic whole non-GMO grains and this gives it extra sweetness and tenderness. It is always best to ask your butcher if the beef was fed antibiotics. I don’t want to eat meat from an animal that was confined to a pen all it’s life. It is also important to know that the animals were treated humanly. Lately, I watched some horrifying videos. We don’t eat a lot of beef; and so, I want a good quality meat when we do enjoy it. I also want to be grateful for these animals that sustain us and that is why, I buy local.

Another one of my recipes that uses stewing beef https://recipesatmytable.com/lentil-beef-barley-soup/

Ingredients for beef pot pie

• 1 lb cubed beef
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbs butter
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 medium onion
• 4 small tomatoes diced
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup red wine
• salt and pepper1 tbsp woreshetshire sauce

Pie Crust

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cold water1 egg
• 1 tsp white vinegar

Process

I always make my pie dough first and wrap it up and place it in  the refrigerator.

The beef is from my local butcher. Then place the flour in a dish and add the paprika. Ensure that each piece is coated. The coating helps thicken the sauce.

Place the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan and brown each piece of beef. I did this in two batches.

The Vegetables

Next prepare all your vegetables by pulsing them into a food processor. This gives you a fine, rich and thick sauce. I also cut my tomatoes into quarters.

Add these vegetables to the meat juices in your pan and sauté for a few minutes. Next go in with the beef and stir.

Pour in the beef broth, the wine and the woreshetshire sauce. Simmer on Medium low for about 40 minutes.

Take your pie dough and remove 1/3 of the dough for the top of the pie. I roll out my pie dough and set the oven to 375 F. Put it in for 10 minutes.

Remove the crust. Raise the oven to 400 and scoop out the filling into the pie with a large spoon. Leave about a cup of sauce in the pan for serving. Brush the top of the pie and place it in the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F after 15 minutes.

A beautiful golden pot pie comes out of the oven.

I made some mushy peas to go along with this. I did this by blanching some frozen peas and throwing them into a blender with some butter, cream, salt and pepper. It was the perfect side and reminded me of being in England.

Sliced on a plate with a side of mushy peas and some of the sauce.