Hungarian Goulash Soup

Total Time: 4 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 5 slices bacon, chopped
• 3 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 medium onions, chopped fine (approx 1 1/2 lbs)
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons sweet hungarian paprika (mom used penzey's pretty exclusively. she swore by it!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 6 cups beef broth, low sodium if possible
• 4 cups water
• 2 large red bell peppers, finely chopped
• 2 large russet potatoes, cubed
• salt and pepper
• sour cream (to garnish)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• water
• salt
• pepper
• onion powder

Recipe

• 1 in 8 quart dutch oven or heavy stockpot, cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring until crisp. transfer bacon to large bowl, reserving fat in pan.
• 2 brown chuck in bacon drippings in small batches over high heat and transfer to bowl as browned.
• 3 reduce heat to medium, add vegetable oil, onions and garlic. cook, stirring occassionally, until golden.
• 4 add paprika, caraway seeds and flour stirring for 2 minutes.
• 5 mix vinegar and tomato paste first, then whisk into spice mixture for one minute. (mixture will be very thick)
• 6 stir in broth, water, seasonings, bell peppers, bacon and chuck and bring to a boil. simmer soup covered, stirring occasionally. for about 3 hours or until beef is very tender. add cubed potatoes and simmer covered for additional 20 minutes.
• 7 make spaetzle:.
• 8 mix 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cup flour and enough water to make a thickish paste. add salt, pepper and onion powder to taste. put mixture on a cutting board and slide dough off with a knife, slicing it into thin rough edged noodle shapes, into boiling soup. cook noodles for approx 10 minutes in broth before serving.
• 9 serve garnished with sour cream and crusty bread on the side! delicious!