Pages

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Beef Goulash with Caramelized Onions {Guest post by MarocMama}


Please welcome my friend Amanda of MarocMama to The Not So Cheesy Kitchen today.  We met through Sunday Supper and her recipes are always amazing.  Thank you so much, Amanda for sharing your experiences and this fantastic recipe :)

When I was growing up I had a fascination with all things German.  I can remember in middle school when we had to take “exploratory” classes and one of them was Spanish.  I argued with the Spanish teacher all the time that I didn’t need or want to learn Spanish I wanted to learn German – except our school didn’t offer that language.  When I finally was in high school I took language courses at our local community college and as chance would have it a few years later I was dating the German exchange student.  No not on purpose.  He went home the summer after my junior year but I planned a trip in the fall to visit him and his family in eastern Germany.  Finally I was going to go!

I spent three weeks traveling around central Europe and it was amazing. Although our relationship ended, the memories of visiting castles, cathedrals, and historical sites stay with me.  So does the memory of eating his mom’s food.  She was an amazing cook! Years later I remember goulash and knudlen.  But, I’ve never been able to replicate it nor found a recipe that was what I remembered. 

So, instead I decided to make my version of a beef goulash.  This is an easy weeknight dish, that’s both gluten-free and dairy-free.  I served it over rice, but you could put it over noodles or mashed potatoes. 


Ingredients
  • -        1 lb of beef, such as an arm roast, sliced as thinly as possible
  • -        1 large Vidalia onion sliced as thinly as possible
  • -        3 tsp vegetable oil
  • -        2 tsp spicy paprika
  • -        1 tsp caraway seeds
  • -        1 tsp each salt and pepper
  • -        1 lb of mushrooms
  • -        2 cups Beef broth
  • -        1 tsp cornstarch

Directions
In a large skillet, add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil and heat to medium high. Carefully slice one large Vidalia onion as thinly as possible.  Add the onion pieces to the heated oil and turn down the heat to medium low.  Slowly cook the onions, watching and stirring occasionally so that they don’t burn.  They will turn translucent, and then begin to brown.  If you notice them browning too quickly you can add a little bit of water to the pan.  When they are caramelized they will be an amber brown color, soft, and a little sticky. 

Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.  Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to the same pan, turn the heat to high, and add the sliced beef. Sear the beef on all sides.  Season the meat with 2 teaspoon spicy paprika, 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir. 
Prepare the mushrooms by washing them well to remove any dirt, and then slicing a similar thickness as the meat.  Add the mushrooms to the cooking meat and stir.  Add the 2 cups of beef broth to the mixture and simmer until the mushrooms have softened.  Whisk in 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken the broth to a gravy consistency. Finally mix the caramelized onions back into the mushroom and meat mixture. 

Serve hot over your choice of potatoes, rice, or noodles.