Kettle Gulyás (Bográcsgulyás)

inspired by The Fig Eater
by Jody Shields

2 medium-sized onions
2 tablespoons lard
1 1/2 pounds beef chuck or round, cut to 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 pound beef heart (optional), cut to 3/4-inch cubes
1 garlic clove
Pinch of caraway seeds
Salt
2 tablespoons "Noble Rose" paprika
1 medium-sized ripe tomato
2 green frying or Italian peppers
1 pound potatoes
Little Dumplings (see above)
Salt

1. Peel onions and chop into coarse pieces. Melt lard in a heavy 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven. Sauté onions in lard. Heat should be low in order not to brown the onions.
2. When onions become glossy, add beef and beef heart. Stir so that during this part of the process, which should last for about 10 minutes, the meat will be sautéed with the onions.
3. Meanwhile, chop and crush the garlic with the caraway seeds and a little salt; use the flat side of a heavy knife.
4. Take kettle from heat. Stir in paprika and the garlic mixture. Stir rapidly with a wooden spoon. Immediately after paprika is absorbed, add 2 1/2 quarts warm water. (Cold water toughens meat if you add it while the meat is frying.)
5. Replace covered kettle over low heat and cook for about 1 hour.
6. While the braising is going on, peel the tomato, then cut into 1-inch pieces. Core green peppers and slice into rings. Peel potatoes and cut into 3/4-inch dice.
7. After meat has been braised for about 1 hour (the time depends on the cut of the meat), add the cut-up tomato and green peppers and enough water to give a soup consistency. Add a little salt. Simmer slowly for another 30 minutes.
8. Add potatoes, and cook the gulyás till done. Adjust salt. Add hot cherry pepper pods if you want to make the stew spicy hot.
9. Cook the dumplings in the stew.
10. Serve the gulyás in large extra-deep bowls. The meat should be tender, but not falling apart.

VARIATIONS:

1. Some housewives start with small pieces of smoked bacon instead of lard.
2. There are many variations even on the basic ingredients. Some people use different types of meat, including pork, veal and sausages. Some add other vegetables like carrots, green beans, kohlrabi, etc.
3. Porkölt: This stew was born out of the same love affair. If you eliminate most of the liquid and cook meat down to its fat you get pörkölt. You should end up with about 1 cup of rich sauce.

8 servings

This recipe is reprinted by permission from George Lang's Cuisine of Hungary, Copyright © 1991, 1994, published by Wings Books, distributed by Random House Value Publishing, Inc., Avenel, New Jersey.