Paprika Infused Paprika
Hungarians and their paprika. What else do you know about Hungary? Goulash? Goulash is beef simmered in paprika. Covered with paprika. Served over pasta ears with a dusting of...surprise! Paprika. Scoff as you might, paprika is a noble and forgotten spice. After eating a hearty bowl of goulash, I discovered the rich, sweet, complex flavor of a slow cooked dish infused with the purest extraction of paprika.
Paprika is typically sprinkled on after the fact, to cast a vibrant, crimson spark on whatever it covers, such as an additive to induce a deep brick hue from chicken. But most people overlook its usefulness as a serious ingredient.
Oftentimes mistaken for a hot pepper, the misconception also has dampened its reputation here in the states. Although there are hot varieties of paprika, Hungarian sweet, Spanish and other varieties have no detectible heat whatsoever. In fact, it does catch you off guard, as the taste does resemble the bright flavor of pepper without any of the heat.
Paprika is closely related to the bell pepper, which itself is the mildest of the commonly cultivated peppers, used as the baseline zero for the scoville ranking of heat for peppers. Paprika, in its modern usage, almost always refers to the ground, bright red powder found in spice racks. In fact, Spanish paprika in its whole form are called pimentos, the very same used to stuff olives.
Not surprisingly, paprika holds center stage in the flavoring of goulash, a dish oven reviled by children because of its unfortunate name. Goulash is a grand Hungarian comfort dish I would revere with the same majesty as beef Stroganoff. This hearty, robust dish could fuel any hardened Alaskan wildcatter's frigid speculation.
Since I am bastardizing this dish for American consumtion, I am subsituting the dumplings Hungarians use with bow-tie pasta, but any short, wide, crinkly pasta will do. I suggest a crock pot, since it makes the best stew meat.
2 lbs of stew beef
3-4 tablespoons of paprika
1-2 cans beef stock
1/2 onion
salt and pepper to taste.
1/2 tablespoon flour (optional)
I know I've used this phrase before, but goulash is deceptively simple. Brown your meat, then throw everything into a crockpot and heat on low for eight hours. Optionally, at the very end, you can turn the heat to high, add another half hour, and stir in flour to thicken. Serve over pasta.
Yep, that's all there is to it. Hearty, flavorful and beefy. Where did I cheat? I found that boiling beef in liquid never imparts a beef flavor to the stew. That's where beef stock is handy. Using beef stock, you never have to worry about flavoring the stew, it is already flavored. This liberates you to concentrate on the main ingredient, beef chunks, and how to make them the most flavorful.
There are certainly variations to this dish, such as the addition of tomato puree, sage or rosemary in conservative quantities. So experiment a little! Take the basic goulash recipe and change it around, it is almost universally able to be modified any way you would like...just don't forget the paprika.
Paprika is typically sprinkled on after the fact, to cast a vibrant, crimson spark on whatever it covers, such as an additive to induce a deep brick hue from chicken. But most people overlook its usefulness as a serious ingredient.
Oftentimes mistaken for a hot pepper, the misconception also has dampened its reputation here in the states. Although there are hot varieties of paprika, Hungarian sweet, Spanish and other varieties have no detectible heat whatsoever. In fact, it does catch you off guard, as the taste does resemble the bright flavor of pepper without any of the heat.
Paprika is closely related to the bell pepper, which itself is the mildest of the commonly cultivated peppers, used as the baseline zero for the scoville ranking of heat for peppers. Paprika, in its modern usage, almost always refers to the ground, bright red powder found in spice racks. In fact, Spanish paprika in its whole form are called pimentos, the very same used to stuff olives.
Not surprisingly, paprika holds center stage in the flavoring of goulash, a dish oven reviled by children because of its unfortunate name. Goulash is a grand Hungarian comfort dish I would revere with the same majesty as beef Stroganoff. This hearty, robust dish could fuel any hardened Alaskan wildcatter's frigid speculation.
Since I am bastardizing this dish for American consumtion, I am subsituting the dumplings Hungarians use with bow-tie pasta, but any short, wide, crinkly pasta will do. I suggest a crock pot, since it makes the best stew meat.
2 lbs of stew beef
3-4 tablespoons of paprika
1-2 cans beef stock
1/2 onion
salt and pepper to taste.
1/2 tablespoon flour (optional)
I know I've used this phrase before, but goulash is deceptively simple. Brown your meat, then throw everything into a crockpot and heat on low for eight hours. Optionally, at the very end, you can turn the heat to high, add another half hour, and stir in flour to thicken. Serve over pasta.
Yep, that's all there is to it. Hearty, flavorful and beefy. Where did I cheat? I found that boiling beef in liquid never imparts a beef flavor to the stew. That's where beef stock is handy. Using beef stock, you never have to worry about flavoring the stew, it is already flavored. This liberates you to concentrate on the main ingredient, beef chunks, and how to make them the most flavorful.
There are certainly variations to this dish, such as the addition of tomato puree, sage or rosemary in conservative quantities. So experiment a little! Take the basic goulash recipe and change it around, it is almost universally able to be modified any way you would like...just don't forget the paprika.
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