This rich beef goulash is one-pot wonder that features regularly on my batch-cook-and-freeze list. My mum used to make a version of it for us as kids – hers always included mushrooms, which I do too, on occasion – and it was every bit a delicious and comforting family meal, especially when served over buttery noodles.
With just a few and simple ingredients, this beef goulash turns a cheaper cut of meat mouth-wateringly tender and flavoursome after a long, low and slow cook in the oven. Choosing cheaper cuts makes sourcing good quality meat more affordable, so look for organic or grass-fed where you can. Traditionally there’s hot paprika in a beef goulash, but I’ve left it out to keep in mild and more paletteable to tiny taste-buds.
The tender meat falls apart, so it’s perfect for those baby led weaning – allowing baby to suck on the meat and it’s juices provides them with some much-needed iron. Babies are born with an iron reserve, and for the first 6-mnths of life, get all the iron they need from breast milk or formula. After that, their iron needs must be met by food. So while the advocated first foods of fruit and vegetables like sweet potato, pumpkin, apple, banana and avocado are all nutritious, they don’t contain the vital nutrients babies need, like iron.
Look for organic capsicums if you can as they feature high up on the Environmetal Working Group “Dirty Dozen” list for the amount of pesticides they contain, the same goes for tomatoes. When choosing canned tomatoes, make one that is BPA-free a priority, as the acid in the tomatoes degrades the BPA in the lining of cans, leaching it in to the food.
Slow-Cooked Beef Goulash
Serves: 6 – Prep time: 15-mins – Cook time: 3-hours
Ingredients:
1kg organic or grass-fed beef (chuck or skirt steak), diced
1 large onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp sweet (Hungarian) paprika
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
500ml organic or grass-fed beef bone broth
1 tin (400ml) diced organic tomatoes *preferably BPA-free
1 organic green capsicum sliced, seeds and pith removed, sliced
1 organic red capsicum, seeds and pith removed, sliced
100ml sour cream
Fresh parsley, to garnish
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to season
Instructions:
- Pre-heat the oven the 150’C
- Warm a heavy-based pot (with a lid) over high heat, add the tallow and onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes
- Season the beef and cook until the meat is golden brown on all sides – you may need to do this in batches, overcrowding the pan will just stew the meat and it won’t brown
- Turn the heat down a little and add the sweet and hot paprika, stir -careful not to let the paprika burn
- Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste and broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Place in the over for 2-hours – you’ll want to check to see if its drying out after 1 hour, and if so, add 1 cup (250ml) of water or broth
- After 2-hours, add the capsicums, put the lid back on and cook for another 1-hour
- Spoon about a cup of the sauce out of the pot and mix with the sour cream, then return the mix back to the pot and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper
- Serve with buttery noodles or potatoes and steamed greens
