Transylvanian Goulash
I decided to test out the test kitchen. I found their price of admission to be excessive but their recipes are clear, choices well explained and so far flavorful. But is it worth the additional cost beyond watching the program?? I didn’t think so.
I found this on Cooks Country’s site and it looked interesting to me. My mom made Hungarian Goulash a lot (a hearty sour creamy beef noodle dish). This is not that. Oh and pay attention to the paprika (use fresh and do not substitute spicy or smoked as it will change the dish) and don’t forget to rinse your sauerkraut. This dish is tricky. It is easy to turn all your tasty veggies into just components of the sauce but I like mine more present than that so instead of “fine” chopped I just chopped and i reduced the simmering time on the stove as well. After you add the Sauerkraut start checking it for consistency after about 10 minutes leave it in as long as you like after the pork is tender.
Ingredients
(3 1/2-pound) boneless pork butt roast, trimmed and cut into bite sized (1 to 1.5 inch) pieces
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 plum tomato, chopped
3 Tbsp sweet paprika
1 Tbsp caraway seeds (I know, seems like a lot but it worked out)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups water
2 cups sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
Sour cream
Minced fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat pork dry with paper towels and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes; transfer to bowl. (Reduce heat if bottom of pot begins to scorch.) Repeat with remaining pork and set aside in bowl.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add butter, onion, bell pepper, celery, tomato, and ½ teaspoon salt to now-empty pot and cook until vegetables are slightly softened and liquid has evaporated, not more than 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.
- Stir in paprika, caraway seeds, and garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Stir in water and pork and any accumulated juices from the bowl.
- Cover, transfer to oven, and cook for 1 hour.
- Stir in sauerkraut, cover, return pot to oven, and continue to cook until pork is fully tender, about 15-30 minutes longer.
- Using wide spoon, skim off any surface fat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in bowls, garnished with sour cream, dill and good hard crusted peasant bread..