Horus' Hungarian Goulash!

It's funny how the arrival of rain can influence your food cravings, even in the midst of what is supposed to be summer!
A couple of days ago a cheeky storm blew in from the Atlantic bringing with it cooler temperatures, gales and lashings of the wet stuff. Of course dear old Donegal is inevitably the first to receive such bountiful moisture. Getting up that morning with the wind blowing and rain being flung against the bedroom window, the first thought for that days meals was a big pot of home made vegetable soup, no time to make it?.... thankfully, I always keep a stock of in the freezer....so no worries there.

But as the day progressed, the rain continued apace and the leaves were beginning to be stripped from the trees.....excuse me, but has anyone told Horus...the Egyptian god of storms!.....that it's supposed to be August here in Ireland and to take his storms elsewhere!......I began to imagine going home to a big bowl of a warming spicy stew, thick and chunky enough to stick to the ribs and keep out the cold.

A stew in the style of a Hungarian Goulash is very easy to knock together if, like me, you always have a bit of plain or smoked paprika and some Cheat's Tomato Sauce or some other tomato based sauce, on hand. It is not obligatory to make a HG (hungarian goulash) with pieces of diced beef, in fact it's the flavours that make this dish, not the actual meat you choose to use!
A HG is equally as tasty made with chicken, turkey, pork, venison or any firm meat you can get your hands on....I actually made this dish with minced beef as I was in a bit of a hurry, and the addition of some paprika spiced chorizo sausage adds that extra bit of jazz to the flavours too.
It is traditional I suppose to serve this dish with potatoes, boiled and served on the side or cooked in the stew itself, but as I am staying true to keto style eating for the time being, I simply served this up on a bed of steamed cabbage....freshly dug from the poly-tunnel I might add!



For my Horus' Hungarian Goulash....you will need...for feeding 4 people 

500 g minced beef
150 g chorizo sausage
1 medium onion
1 red pepper
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 heaped teaspoons paprika...plain or smoked as you like, or even a bit of both
500 mls tomato sauce....or you can use tinned tomatoes or passata....remember though you will need to use additional seasoning to counteract the blandness from these tomatoes
200 mls water
sea salt, fresh black pepper
50 mls soured cream or creme fraiche
olive oil

you will also need either a deep pot with a snugly fitting lid or a cast iron casserole dish that can be used on top of the cooker

How to.....

• roll the mined beef into bite sized meatballs and chill in the fridge while you prepare everything else
• peel, halve and slice the onion, 
  
• cut the red pepper in half, remove any seeds and fibrous bits, all we want is the bright red flesh. then cut into nice big pieces
• cut the chorizo sausage in nice chunks 
• heat a frying pan and add a little olive oil....take the meatballs from the fridge and pan-fry lightly, browning them on all sides
• remove the meatballs from the pan with a slotted spoon and   place in your casserole /saucepan
• add the chorizo chunks to the frying pan and cook gently until a little fat and colour begin to seep out of the sausage
• add the onions to the pan a cook for a moment then add the peppers and cook for a moment more
• add the paprika to the pan and stir in well, add the water and bring to the boil.....this will help loosen any sediment stuck to the base of the pan
• allow the water to reduce until almost gone. 
  
•  turn the heat down, add the tomato sauce and the crushed garlic then stir everything together well 
• pour the sauce and vegetables over the top of the meat balls and stir gently so the meatballs are well coated in everything....be careful not to break them up though.
• place the lid on the pot and cook on medium heat for approx 20 minutes  
• check that the meatballs are cooked through then taste the sauce for seasoning....add an extra dusting of paprika if you think it needs it.
• stir in the cream just before serving.