Goulash Soup!

I saw another particularly promising recipe the other day in the Wall Street Journal. Again, who would ever guess that the WSJ would be a place for reliable recipes? What happened to all the rich fat cats who are supposed to be running that paper? ;)

I've made a number of changes to the recipe, both to simplify it and eliminate some steps, and I present my adapted version of it to you below. If you want to see another example of recipe modification, be sure to take a look at the original. In my opinion, both versions pass the five easy questions with flying colors.

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Goulash Soup
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion diced

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons sweet paprika
1 Tablespoon ground caraway seeds (NOTE: if you're stuck with plain, unground caraway seeds, you can use a simple spice grinder like this one, or you can painstakingly smash the seeds with the back of a heavy spoon in a heavy bowl. OR, if you don't have a spice grinder and don't want to have to buy one, you can do the expedient thing and just leave these guys out. The dish is still good without 'em.)
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf

1 pound lean beef chuck or stew meat, in 1/2 inch cubes

1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon red-wine vinegar

1/2 pound potatoes, unpeeled and diced in 1/2 cubes
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large non-stick pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 4 minutes. Then add the garlic, spices (paprika, carroway seeds, marjoram and thyme) and stew meat. Saute until beef begins to brown, another 4-5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, vinegar and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the potatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Before serving, add the lemon juice and season to taste with black pepper.

Easily serves four.

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Congrats again to the Journal for putting another great recipe out there for me to adapt and bend to my whims. Enjoy!




Related Posts:
How to Modify a Recipe Part 1: Basics
How to Modify a Recipe Part 2: The Six Rules
How to Modify a Recipe Part 3: Granola Before and After