Goulash is probably the most Hungarian dish there is. And because it´s served all over the world, I haven´t eaten the same goulash in two places, I swear! In Romania it´s common in Transylvania, as well as in families with Hungarian ties. It might very well be on other people´s menu as well, but in the south, where I´m from, people would rather make lasagna than try something traditional from other parts of the country. I myself had it for the first time in Budapest, many years ago. There it was a thin, soup-like thing, but they served study portions, so it filled student bellies well. Later on I ate it at my aunt´s, she´s a Hungarian born in Norway and was married to my uncle for many years.  She makes it with dumplings and it was about the best thing I´d ever tasted! We love pot roast type of dinners, from ratatouille to chili con carne, so we had to make it ourselves at one point.

Inspired by a couple of recipes, as well as the zillion goulashes we´d tasted, we composed the following recipe:

4 medium onions

4-5 tea spoons of paprika powder

1 tea spoon of hot chili

3-4 tomatoes

2-3 garlic cloves

2-3 carrots

1kg potatoes

100 g sour cream

1 l water

Knorr/Maggie/Vegeta (2-3 lumps)

1 bell pepper

caraway

thyme

1/2 kg beef, in small morsels

oil (olive oil and rape seed oil)

Sauté the onion and the garlic. Add the beef morsels and stir fry. Add the vegetables, the water, the spices and so on. Cook over medium heat for a couple of hours or three. Sprinkle fresh thyme and serve with sour cream and bread. Bon appetite!