Hungarian Goulash with cucumber sauce is on our dinner table tonight #Recipe #shop

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Being from Germany, my kids love when I dish up some of my comfort food and one dinner that the entire family enjoys and loves is my Hungarian Goulash dish. Every time I mention to my friends in Florida that we are having goulash for dinner I get different ideas to make it. I could never understand why someone would add tomatoes to goulash. It took me years to figure out that the Hungarian Goulash that I grew up with and call comfort food is far from the American Goulash that people dish up for their families. For me Goulash has always been beef cubes and paprika.

Well, since I’ve learned that the word is the same in both languages, the recipe is totally different in the two cultures. My kids love the American Goulash, yet we changed it and now call it Hamburger gravy, no idea why, but that way we don’t get confused when I tell the kids we are having Hungarian Goulash. It is funny how one word can be so different in different countries.

The other day, the kids begged me to make them my famous Hungarian Goulash for dinner and my friends at #CollectiveBias wanted me to share a German comfort food dish, so what better way than to combine them into a blog post and share with everyone.

When I did my grocery shopping at Walmart I saw that STAR has a Butter flavored Olive Oil and I grabbed a bottle, I figured it would work well with many dishes. It was the perfect choice for browning my meat for the Hungarian Goulash. STAR Butter flavored Olive Oil is currently exclusive to Walmart, so be sure to grab a bottle or two the next time you are there. You can use it for cooking, baking and anything in between and will give your dish a special note.

I really like the Beef at Winn Dixie and they had a sale on Beef the week I went shopping, so I grabbed my STAR Butter flavored Olive Oil at Walmart and then headed to Winn Dixie to grab my meat and a few of the veggies that I would need for the recipe. Love when I can find a deal for dinner and between Walmart and Winn Dixie, I sure saved a bundle and was able to dish up a wonderful comfort food for my family, especially with the Beef shortage, I still got a great deal on my meat.

This is what you need for the Hungarian Goulash

• 1.5 – 2lb cubed beef
• 1/2 package baby carrots, cut into small chunks
• 1 large onion, cut into half rings
• 2-3 large or 5-6 small bell peppers (any color is fine), cut into smaller pieces
• 2 garlic gloves, minced
• 2-3 tablespoon sweet paprika powder (YES!! this makes your goulash)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cups water (maybe a little extra to make more gravy if desired)
• 2 Tablespoon Star Butter flavored Olive Oil
• 1-2 Tablespoon Tomato Paste (if desired to thicken the sauce, not a must, you can also use a little flour to thicken the sauce if needed)

This is how to make the Authentic Hungarian Goulash

1. Add your onions, 1 gloved of the garlic, minced, 1/2 of the Sweet Pepper powder, the Beef cubes and the STAR Butter Flavored Olive Oil to a pan to brown, takes about 10 minutes or so.
2. Once your meat is brown you can either transfer it to a slow cooker for 3-4 on high and finish the next step or leave on the stove and simmer on low for 2-3 hrs. on the stove,  follow the steps below.
3. Add your water, the remaining Sweet Pepper Powder, salt and pepper if you like, carrots and cook as per step 2.
4. Keep adding water if needed, especially on the stove if you simmer it, you may need to add extra water at times to keep a nice sauce.
5. After your meat is done in the slow cooker or the stove top, add some more Sweet Paprika powder (this will make the dish.. lots is key), a little Chili powder, the bell peppers and remaining minced garlic. Let cook for another 30 minutes or so, add the Tomato Paste or flour if your sauce isn’t thick enough or if you added extra water to make more sauce to get enough gravy for your family.

It’s very important to let the meet simmer and cook for as long as possible. That gives it that perfect paprika flavor. We served our Hungarian Goulash with Gnocchi, you can add potatoes, mashed potatoes, Pasta or even rice if you like. I also always make a cucumber sauce to go with my Goulash, it’s simple, but the perfect companion for the Goulash dish.

You need just a few items to make your Cucumber Sauce to go with your Hungarian Goulash

• 1-2 Cucumber, shredded
• 1-2 tablespoon Sour Cream
• 1 teaspoon+ Milk to make your sour cream a little more like a thin sauce
• lots of Fresh or dry Dill Weed
• 1 –2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all together in a bowl, let sit for a little. I usually drain all the liquid from the cucumber after I shred it so most of the liquid is out and then add my sour cream, dill and vinegar. Now serve with your Hungarian Goulash and enjoy.

What do you call comfort food?

Would love to hear what dinner your favorite is, do you have a different dinner that your family loves? Let’s chat, can’t wait to hear all the yummy dinner ideas.