Left-Over Wednesdays: Beef Goulash

Goulash brings to mind connotations of a mom's home cooked meal gone awry. At least it did for me. But, I looked this receipe over and, hey, it sounds kinda good! So I bought all the ingredients and set out to make this on a cold winter's night.

SO GOOD! I hope you give goulash a chance!

Note: This receipe is from Cook's Country website, a division of America's Test Kitchen. The photos here are my own. All notes that are mine are in bold italics.

Beef Goulash
Serves 6 to 8

The flavor from the beef fat adds an important richness to this stew, so be careful not to trim the meat too closely. We recommend you remove the external fat from the chuck roast, but leave the internal fat, unless it is excessively thick. Serve this hearty stew over buttered egg noodles.

1 boneless beef chuck roast (3-pound), trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup sweet paprika
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 onions , minced
6 cloves garlic , minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 red bell peppers , stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Dry the beef thoroughly with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of the paprika. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the meat and cook until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the browned meat to a plate. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with 1 more tablespoon of the oil and the remaining beef. (Pay close attention to the cooking times; I rushed this once and the meat was tough.) 2. Add the remaining tablespoon oil to the empty pot and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and the remaining 3 tablespoons paprika. Cook until the onions have softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the browned beef along with any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer, cover, and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes. 3. Stir in the red peppers. Cover and continue to cook in the oven until the meat is just tender, about 40 minutes longer.

4. Remove the pot from the oven. Whisk 1/2 cup of the stewing liquid into the sour cream and add the sour cream mixture to the stew. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. (I served this with the reccommended egg noodles and it was perfect. I also had extra sour cream on hand for those that desired more!)