Agi’s Gulyás and Forralt Bor

This lovely Hungarian lady is Agi. Ben and Megan have tried many different variations of Gulyás, but the one Agi makes has a depth of flavor not found in others they tried. Not able to put their finger on what made it exemplary, Agi generously purchased all the ingredients and taught us how to make it.

As always, we gather the ingredients. The paprika in the jar was grown by
Agi's godparents. The orange tube contains gulyáskrém. I am unable to read the
Hungarian, but my taste buds tell me this Hungarian household staple contains
tomato paste, beef bullion and spices. Agi says she carries it with her
 when she travels and spreads it on a piece of toast for a taste of home.

While Agi cut up the beef, Megan and I chopped all the vegetables

You can buy stew meat, but Agi prefers to cut up a chuck roast

Agi likes to use duck fat to saute the onions and garlic.
It may be one reason her gulyás is so rich. I'm not sure where
I can get duck fat in Rockwall, Texas, but if you see me trying
to capture one of the plump fowls on Lake Ray Hubbard, you'll
know why. Bacon fat, coconut oil or any other fat will work.
**Be very careful not to burn or overcook the paprika or the gulyás will be bitter.

Agi doesn't like parsley floating around in her
gulyás, so she ties it up with twine, throws
it in the pot, and removes it before serving.

For the same reason, she doesn't chop up the
celery root and removes it before serving.

While the stew is simmering, make your pasta.

Pinch off peanut-sized bits of dough and roll into balls.

To avoid clumping add a few at a time to salted boiling water.
 Cook until done in the center, 7 to 10 minutes.

Megan made a video of the pasta-making, However, it is stuck in the Cloud somewhere never to be retrieved until one of my grandchildren can instruct me on the fine art of downloading videos!!

Agi’s Gulyás

2-3 T of fat, beef, pork, or duck. (*Note from Ben--Americans, don’t be afraid of this ingredient)
1 medium onions (~2 cups diced)
3 cloves of diced garlic
1 T paprika
1 ½ pounds of cubed beef chuck
2 T gulyáskrém
1 T salt
8 cups of water
¼ of celery root
5 potatoes (~4 cups diced)
6 carrots (~3 cups diced)
2 turnips (~1 ½ cups diced)
1 bunch of fresh parsley
2 whole cloves of garlic
1 cup of dry, red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
White Flour

Directions:

1.       On medium heat, warm the fat in a large pot until sizzling.
2.       Add onion and chopped garlic. Cook until onions are translucent.
3.       Increase heat to medium high, add beef and paprika and cook until beef is barely white. **Be very careful not to burn or overcook the paprika or the gulyás will be bitter.
4.       Add water until the beef is almost covered, but not quite.  Add the gulyáskrém and salt.  (In Hungarian, this staple is called “pörkölt”.  By substituting chicken for beef and by omitting the gulyáskrém, you can make another famous Hungarian dish called Chicken Paprikás.)
5.       Bring to a boil and turn heat to low. Let the pörkölt simmer for approximately an hour or until beef is cooked and tender.  Stir occasionally and add water as needed.
6.       While the pörkölt simmers, dice the potatoes, carrots, and turnips. Bind up the parsley using kitchen twine.
7.       After beef is cooked and tender, add the vegetables, whole garlic cloves, wine, salt and pepper. Return to  boil, reduce the heat and simmer until vegetables are bite-tender (approximately 1 hour).
8.       While gulyás is simmering, make pasta.
To make pasta:

1.       Crack on egg into a bowl and lightly beat with a fork.
2.       Add flour and mix with fork until smooth.
3.       When you can no longer mix with a fork, knead flour in with your hands until a hard ball is formed.
4.       Pinch off peanut-sized bits of dough and roll into small balls.
5.       Boil water in a small pot and add about a teaspoon of salt.
6.       Slowly add pasta to pot and stir to prevent the pasta from clumping together.

7.       Boil pasta until no longer raw in the center. 

8.       Strain and serve.

Season gulyás to taste with more gulyáskrém, salt, pepper, or wine to taste.

To serve, add some pasta in the bottom of your bowl and ladle gulyás on top.
Makes about 8 servings.

If that doesn't warm your toes up enough, try the Hungarian mulled wine Forralt Bor!

Simmer together:
1 bottle of cheap red wine 
2/3 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves (I put these in a tea ball so I don't have to fish them out)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 orange, peeled and sliced.
Do not boil.

Jo Étvágyat!