Beef Paprikash with Pasta
Ingredients
1 lb. Lean ground beef
1 tbsp. Olive oil
1 lb. Short-cut pasta, your choice (elbows pictured here)
28 oz. can Diced or crushed tomatoes, in their juice1
1 medium Onion (any variety), diced
1 Roasted red pepper, chopped roughly
1 c. Mushrooms (any small variety), sliced or quartered
1 medium Green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves Garlic, smash-peeled and minced roughly
1/2 c. Flour
1 c. Sour cream
1/2 tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
6 tsp. Smoked sweet or hot paprika (Hungarian preferred), divided2
1 tsp. Kosher salt
2 c. Beef stock
2 Bay leaves
1 dash Frank’s® (a hefty dash)
6 oz. can Tomato paste
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Anise seed
1/2 tsp. Instant coffee crystals
(1 tsp. Caraway seed in place of the anise and cumin, as preferred)
Additional Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
Directions
• Crumble ground beef into a large pot, sprinkle with some salt, pepper, and the flour, and stir until flour incorporates. Cook over medium heat until just browned (about 6-8 minutes).
• Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
• Add the oil, and caramelize 2 tbsp. of the tomato paste in it and the beef renderings for a minute or two, until fragrant.
• Add the onions and garlic, and sautée until the onion is just softened, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the peppers and sautée for another 3-4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, Frank’s®, vinegar, all the spices, coffee and stock, and stir well.
• Cover, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a rapid simmer.
• Uncover and stir in the sour cream, until well blended.
• Return the browned beef to the pot, stir thoroughly, reduce the heat to medium, and cover.
• While the beef and sauce simmers to combine, cook the pasta according to package directions, until 1 minute short of al dente. Be sure to add about a tablespoon of salt to the water after it reaches a boil, and before putting in the pasta.
• Using a spider scoop, add the pasta to the beef and sauce, and stir. (If draining in a colander –which is acceptable- reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.)
• Stir in about 1/4 cup of the pasta water to help the sauce adhere to the pasta. (Use more if the sauce is too thick or not adhering to the pasta after a minute or two.)
• Add the remaining tomato paste and stir until incorporated.
• Continue to cook another 1-2 minutes (or so), until the pasta is al dente.
• Serve piping hot, or keep hot in a slow cooker (Crock Pot™), or chafing pan/dish.
I’ve already railed against the macaroni-tomato-beef slop that endlessly shows up at almost every buffet or potluck. I finally said to myself, “Self: there must be a better way.” So…
I took my Goulash recipe (authentically Hungarian), changed it up a bit, and came up with this for this Sunday’s football half-time buffet. (I wanted to serve true Goulash, but then I did the math: Goulash for 30-40 people? Cost prohibitive! I scaled Sunday’s buffet recipe down to this, which serves 6-8 people.)
This recipe combines traditional Hungarian ingredients/flavors, with an American idea, cooked using Italianate technique(s). I actually impressed myself with that!
Never, ever again will there be any excuse for that macaroni-tomato-beef bilge turning up, masquerading as “goulash.” Never.
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