While skiing with my family in Austria we had a delicious Goulash soup. It was such a delicious combination of herbs and filling that I was still craving this soup when I got home. So I got to work trying to replicate the soup, and I have to say this recipe is very close to the original.
This goulash soup is rich, full of meat and vegetables. Every bite is so full of flavor! I think it could make a complete lunch or dinner but it is best when consumed with some bread; we combined it with my sourdough bread. You can find the recipe for my sourdough bread here.
Skiing as a family is something we have always loved doing. We lived in America for 11 years. In California we loved to go to Lake Tahoe with its beautiful views over the lake. When we moved to Pennsylvania we traveled up to the mountains of Vermont and had a blast there too. After moving back to the Netherlands we planned our first family ski trip to Austria. We were there during Christmas with my husband’s brother, his sister-in-law and their kids. Growing up my family often went skiing in Austria, so being back there felt so familiar. We had beautiful ski holidays in the USA, but Austria feels like home to me. The slopes were gorgeous and we could ski from one delicious restaurant to another eating all the foods we had been missing. Nothing beats a good filling soup for lunch after spending the morning in the cold on skis. Paired with some homemade sourdough this goulash soup hits the spot for sure.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes: pureed with flour and some garlic this is the base for the soup.
- Ground beef: I choose ground beef for this recipe. Most soups call for diced meat, but that can turn out dry and tough so I prefer ground meat.
- Bacon: gives the soup an extra salty flavor.
- Caraway seed: also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin. It is highly aromatic and has a distinctive mild anise flavor.
- Paprika powder: dried and ground red peppers.
- Garlic: I used fresh minced garlic.
- Vegetables: onions, bell peppers and potatoes.
- Flour: to thicken the soup.
- Beef broth: The base is the tomato base with the beef broth.
- Bay Leaf: I used dry bay leaves.
Preparations:
Start with cutting up all the ingredients. Next we will make the tomato base. Start by frying the shallot and when it is soft add in the tomatoes and fry till softened. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Next add in the tomato paste, stir and add 2 tablespoons of flour continuing to stir for a bit. Finally add in one cup of broth. Put this into a blender and combine till smooth. Set aside for now.
In the same pan, add some oil and fry the bacon to a crisp. I like to use this Le Creuset cast iron Dutch oven pan. Then add in the ground beef and spices, breaking it up until the meat is cooked through. To the meat mixture add in 2 tablespoons of flour, or more if a thicker soup is preferred. Continue to cook for 2 minutes until fragrant. Then add in all the vegetables, tomato base and the rest of the broth to the meat mixture. Finally, add the bay leaves and let it simmer for 1 hour.
Goulash soup
Ingredients
Tomato base
- 1 Shallot diced
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- 5 Tomatoes diced
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (70 gram)
- 1 Cup Water
Goulash soup
- 300 Grams Ground Beef
- 2 Teaspoon Ground Paprika Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
- 150 Grams Bacon diced
- 1 Bell Pepper diced
- 3-4 Golden Potatoes peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoon s Flour
- 500 Milliliters Beef Broth
- 1 teaspoon Caraway Seed
- 2 Bay Leaves
Instructions
Tomato base
- Start with cutting all the vegetables. I choose to dice all the vegetables into small pieces.
- In a warm pan, add some oil or butter. Fry the shallots until soft. Then add garlic and fry for another 30 secondes or until fragrant.
- Add your diced tomatoes, salt, pepper and tomato paste. Stir quickly. Then add the flour. Combine and cook for 1 -2 minutes.
- Slowly stir in one cup of broth.
- Transfer your tomato base to a blender and blend until smooth and set aside.
Soup
- In the same pan where the tomato base was prepared, on medium heat add some oil and the bacon. Fry until the bacon is crisp.
- Add the ground beef to your pan with the bacon and stir in the spices; salt, pepper, paprika powder. Cook the meat throughly. Add the onion to the meat mixture. Cook until they are soft.
- To thicken the soup you will be adding 2 tablespoons of flour to the meat mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add all your diced vegetables, tomato base and the rest of the broth little by little. When all is combined add bay leaves and let the soup simmer for 1 hour with lid on the pan.
- Taste and adjust spices to your preference. Remove the bay leaf and serve with some delicious sour dough bread. Enjoy!