Hungarian Goulash

With the winter weather, it's almost a crime not to do a bit of slow-cooking. I've honestly never made a Hungarian Goulash before, I discovered its not too different from making an Italian Ragu and no doubt I'll be making this again!

You will need... (2-3 generous serves)
500gr beef chuck steak
1 brown onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tbs smoked paprika
1 Tbs plain flour
1 large capsicum (usually use red, but I had green on hand so I used that!), seeded and diced into pieces
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 large handful of button mushrooms, quartered
500ml beef stock, salt reduced
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper
olive oil
Sour cream and parsley for garnish
Steamed rice for serving

Method...
1. Trim the beef of any excess fat and try to remove the majority of the sinew
2. Heat a little olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan with a lid (I used a crockpot/dutch oven), add the beef and saute on medium-high until brown. Remove.

3. Add a little more oil, and turn the heat down to low. Add the onion, capsicum and mushrooms. Saute until the onion starts to soften and then add the garlic, sweat until fragrant.

4. Add the beef back to the saucepan then the flour and paprika, stir to coat. Turn back up to high heat and de-glaze the pan with a little stock.

5. Spoon in the tomato paste, the diced tomatoes and add the stock. Season lightly, add the bay leaves and bring to the boil.

6. Reduce to a low simmer, cover with the lid and leave to cook for 2 hours, checking every half hour or so to make sure it isn't catching on the bottom and burning.
7. Goulash is ready once meat is tender and saucy in consistency. Serve over a bed of rice, with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.