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Hungarian Goulash With Csipetke

A good few years ago we took a trip to Prague. It was here I tried my first authentic goulash, in a pokey little restaurant near the train station. It came in a large soup plate and consisted of a very tender piece of stewed steak, all in one piece, covered in a thick soup and served with a dumpling, vegetables and warm bread. I have always remembered how tasty it was and for years have wanted to try making this dish as an alternative to our regular stew and dumplings. After searching the plethora of recipe sites I finally plumped for two options, both from, allegedly, specialists in Hungarian cuisine: Budapest By Locals and Best Of Hungary

The first recipe I tried included an additional recipe for some little pinch dumplings called csipetke which you throw in at the last minute. The main difference between the two recipes is in the order of cooking. Both recipes suggest serving with warm artisan bread since goulash is more of a soup than a stew. I followed the first one to the letter a few times with great success, including the dumplings; which I even showed my sister how to make; but now I am gaining a little confidence I am  starting to experiment and adapt them to our taste. 

Since originally posting this recipe I have done more and more in my Ninja Foodi and felt that goulash would be an ideal candidate for the pressure cooker so I had a go. Once I had done all my sautéing I set my Ninja to the pressure setting which cut down the cooking time to 40 minutes, including two pressurising times. The meat was just as tender and flavoursome as if it had been bubbling away for the recommended 2 hours on the stove top.

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 600g stewing steak, diced
  • 2 bell peppers, sliced (red or green or both) 
  • 2-3 carrots, sliced
  • 1-2 parsnips, sliced
  • 2 large sticks celery, sliced
  • 2 large potatoes, cubed
  • 500mls beef broth (OXO), 250mls if using pressure cooker. 
  • 1½ tsp caraway seeds/ground caraway
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbs sweet smoked paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 heaped tsp lazy garlic
  • 2 tbs tomato purée
  • 4-5 cups hot water
  • Salt to taste

For The Csipetke

  • 1 egg
  • Flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp water
  1. Beat the egg
  2. Add a pinch of salt and enough flour to make a stiff dough (add water if necessary)
  3. Flatten the dough between your palms to about 1cm thickness.
  4. Pinch small bean sized pieces and drop them into the boiling soup.
  5. Cook for five minutes. 

Stove Top Method

  1. In a large saucepan heat the olive oil, add the onions and sauté until golden.
  2. Add the caraway seeds, black pepper and bay leaves and cook for a further 2 minutes
  3. Remove pan from heat, add the paprika and combine with the onions.
  4. Return pan to heat, add half the broth and cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the beef and garlic and stir until all the meat is coated with the gravy.
  6. Cook for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat until the beef starts to brown.
  7. Add the tomato purée, peppers and the remainder of the broth to cover the meat and vegetables. Add a little hot water if needed.
  8. Cover and simmer for 1½ hours over a low heat.
  9. Add the carrots, parsnips, potatoes and celery and cover with 4-5 cups hot water.
  10. 10.Bring to the boil then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes over a medium heat.
  11. 11.If serving with csipetke add these to the pan 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Pressure Cooker Method

  1. Set pressure cooker to SEAR/SAUTÉ and follow instructions 1-3.
  2. Add 250mls of the stock then follow instructions 5-7.
  3. Turn off SEAR/SAUTÉ, close the lid and set to PRESSURE. 
  4. Cook for 20 minutes on HIGH followed by quick release.
  5. Open lid and add the root vegetables and celery plus more stock if required.
  6. Close lid, set to PRESSURE and cook for 3 minutes on HIGH followed by quick release.
  7. Serve with crusty bread or csipetke.

If making csipetke set to SEAR/SAUTÉ, add the csipetke and cook for a further 5 minutes. 

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