Бозбаш от Бугайского.

Баранина - рёбрышки с частью грудины, лопатка.
Лук, кислые яблоки, сл. перец, помидоры, фасоль (приготовлена ранее), чеснок, киндза, базилик, зелёный жгучий перчик, специи.
Лук, сельдерей и морковь – на бульон.
Бозбаш начинается с бульона, и это общее правило для всех бозбашей.
Мясо залить холодной водой и поставить вариться.
Проварить примерно час, рёбрышки достать.
К оставшейся грудине добавить лук, сельдерей и морковь, слегка посолить, оставить вариться на маленьком огоньке дальше.
Слегка остывшие и слегка недоваренные рёбра нарезать на кусочки по ребру.
Нарезать перьями лук, оставить половинку луковицы на потом.
Небольшими кубиками нарезать курдючного сала и поставить его вытапливаться на сковороде.
Готовые шкварки вынуть, на сковороду высыпать лук.
Подрумянить его и выложить разрезанные рёбрышки.
Жарить их вместе с луком до яркого румянца, слегка посыпав солью и чёрным перцем.
Бульон перелить через дуршлаг в чистую кастрюлю.
Овощи из дуршлага выкинуть, мясо промыть кипятком, отправить обратно в кастрюлю, в процеженный бульон.
Поставил вариться снова.
Готовую фасоль отцедить и высыпать в бульон.
Перец разрезать напополам вдоль, выкинуть семечки, нарезать полосками по 5мм наискосок и туда же.
Так же поступить с морковиной.
Засыпать сушёные сливы.
Таймер на 20 минут.
Через 5 минут заложить жареные рёбрышки с луком, стараясь зацепить минимум жира со сковороды.
Очистить от кожуры яблоки и распустить их на дольки.
Каждую дольку – ещё пополам.
В ступке натолочь чёрного перца, зиры и кориандра. 1 ч.л. + 1 дес.л. + 1 ст.л.
Очистить чеснок.
Через 10 минут после рёбрышек забросить яблоки, хорошо перемешать.
Добавить столовую ложку сушёных помидоров (можно столовую ложку барбариса) и столовую ложку молотой сладкой паприки.
Ещё через 2 минуты всыпать толчёную смесь перец-зира-кориандр.
Нарезать киндзу и базилик, растолочь в ступе чеснок с щепоткой крупной соли.
Очень тонко нарезать полукольцами оставшуюся половинку луковицы.
Через 3 минуты выключить.
Посыпать сырым луком.
Дал отдохнуть 5 минут и засыпать зелень с чесноком.
Дать отдохнуть ещё 15 минут и можно подавать.

- Кулинарные сражения врачей продолжаются. : sergej_pozhar

- Коурма-бозбаш: stalic

- Bozbash recipe - Recipes of Caucasian cuisine

Говяжья голяшка с грибами и фасолью.

Оссобуко по-карпатски от sergej_pozhar (ЖЖ).
Говяжья голень 2 кг
Грибы белые свежие 400 г
Грибы белые сухие 100 г
Фасоль 350 г
Лук 150 г
Морковь 200 г
Чеснок 5-6 зубчиков
Соль, перец.

Сухие грибы замочить на 5 часов, отжать, мелко нарезать.
Свежие грибы почистить.
Овощи очистить и порезать.
Фасоль отварить до готовности.
На мясе надрезать плёнку и обвязать нитью.
На разогретой сковороде обжарить мясо с каждой стороны до золотой корочки и уложить в толстостенную кастрюлю.
На той же сковороде обжарить ½ часть лука, морковь и сухие грибы.
Переложить к мясу, залить водой и на малом огне тушить 2,5 часа.
На сковороде протушить оставшийся лук и свежие грибы, добавить мелко нарезанный чеснок.
Если мясо готово – легко отстаёт от кости, собираем всё в одну кастрюлю.
К мясу добавим грибы, фасоль, соль, перец и тушим ещё 20 минут всё вместе.
На блюдо выложить мясо, сняв нитку и дополнить остальными компонентами.
- Говяжья голяшка с грибами и фасолью. Оссобуко по-карпатски.: sergej_pozhar

A warming and delicious beef stew.

Recipe: a warming and delicious beef stew | A Little Bird
Brrrr. It’s getting colder.
Here’s a great winter stew recipe to warm you up.
We make loads of stews all through the winter, and this one – shin of beef with ginger and soy, from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book, River Cottage Every Day, is a high favourite for several reasons.

1) It’s delicious and tasty.
Sometimes totally traditional stew can be a bit bland.
Not this, with its soy and ginger.
It’s still comfort food of the highest order, but it comes with a kick.
It works both as an informal family supper or for a dinner party.
It freezes well too.

2) It’s cheap.
Shin of beef is an inexpensive cut of meat that needs to be cooked slowly for a long time, so the sinewy parts melt down and add a lovely gelatinous texture.
Perfect, then, to use in a stew.
1.5kg of shin of beef, which is a lot of meat, costs less than a tenner.

3) It’s easy.
The only trick to this stew, and any stew, is to take your time to brown the meat.
You’ll get spat at by the fat, and your tongs will get hot with turning the meat so it’s properly browned on all sides, but it’s so worth it.
Once you’ve done that, the rest is mere minutes of prep.
Then it just sits in a low oven for 3 hours or so.
We sometimes serve it with rice, but it really is best with egg noodles, as Hugh suggests.

Here is the full recipe:

Shin of beef with ginger and soy: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: River Cottage Everyday.

Serves 4 – 6
2 tablespoons sunflower or groundnut oil or beef fat
About 1.5kg shin of beef, cut into 2cm thick slices, either on or off the bone.
6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 thumb-sized nuggets of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons tart fruit jam or jelly, such as redcurrant, plum or crab apple
150ml soy sauce
350-500ml apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 medium-hot fresh or dried chillies
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 120 C/ Gas ½

Heat the oil or fat in a wide, heavy-based flameproof casserole.

Season the pieces of meat with salt and pepper and brown them in batches, so you don’t overcrowd the pan, turning them to colour all over.
Remove each batch and set aside while you brown the rest.
The meat may curl up a bit as the membranes contract with the heat, especially if the slices are on the bone: snipping the membranes will help release the tension and flatten the meat out again.
Once the beef is browned, remove it from the casserole and set aside on a plate.

Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and ginger to the casserole and cook gently until softened but not coloured.
Add the jam or jelly and soy sauce, mix well, then return the meat to the casserole, in a single layer if possible. (It’s not possible, not unless you have the biggest casserole in the world. It doesn’t matter though).

Pour in enough apple juice barely to cover the meat.

Add the vinegar, whole chillies and a few grinds of black pepper, then cover and place in the oven.
Cook for 2.5 – 3 hours, until the meat is completely tender.

The garlic and ginger should just about hold their shape and should be eaten with the meat.
The chillies will have done their job and can be discarded – or nibbled by anyone brave enough.
Serve with noodles and steamed greens.

Gulasch (goulash).

Gulasch (goulash) Recipe : Austrian Main Courses:
Ingredients (2 people)
300 g meat (beef or - less common - pork)
100 g butter
3 small onions
2 tablespoons of sweet, red paprika powder
Salt, pepper
1 tablespoon of caraway
a good shot of vinegar

What Austrian Goulash is
Isn't goulash a Hungarian meal?
That's what I have always been asked when the cafeteria of my college served "Austrian Goulash".
Now, let me explain this.
It is in fact the case that "goulash" is both a Hungarian word and meal.
The Hungarian goulash, however, is somewhat more soupy and slightly differently prepared than the meal that Austrian's call "Gulasch".
The goulash that I describe below was derived from the Hungarian dish much like the Wiener Schnitzel was derived from an Italian meal.

Nevertheless, it is genuinely Austrian - at least Imperial Austrian.
Hungarians would probably not identify the Austrian goulash as what they consider to be goulash and the other way round.
Goulash is prepared in many variations in all of Austria, the following recipe is a version commonly prepared in my family.
The meal served in my college's cafeteria, by the way, was neither Austrian, nor Hungarian - and certainly not goulash after all.

How to prepare Austrian Goulash
Chop the onions and roast them in butter.
Add the chopped meat and roast everything properly.
Add salt, pepper and paprika, roast everything thoroughly.
Add about 500 mL of water and a good shot of vinegar (I tried balsamic vinegar once when I had run out of normal one and that worked quite well) and the caraway.
Boil at low heat for about 1.5 to 2 hours until the meat is tender.
Stir occasionally and add water if necessary.
Thicken the goulash with corn starch if necessary.
It is best served with a Semmelknödel bread dumpling and some salad with sour cream dressing.
'via Blog this'

Caponata by Nigel Slater.

Sweet and sour dishes hold great pleasure for me, and none more so than this extraordinary salad of aubergine and tomato.
I put peppers in mine - some people do, some don't - and this is one of the very few times I ever peel an aubergine.
I can eat this Sicilian dish at any time of year, but especially now, when the sun is shining.
If you make it the day before, the flavours - salty, sweet and sour - will have time to marry in the fridge.

Serves 4
aubergines - 2, very large
olive oil
a large onion
garlic - 2 cloves, finely chopped
celery - 2 large sticks
a large red pepper
tomato purée - a scant tbs
tomato passata - 200ml
golden sultanas or raisins - 2 tbs
red wine vinegar - 4 tbs
sugar - 1 tbs
capers - 1 tbs
green olives - a handful

Peel the aubergines and remove their stalks.
Cut them into large chunks and place in a colander.
Sprinkle them with salt then set aside for an hour.

Peel the onion and slice it thinly then let it soften - but not colour - in a shallow layer of oil.
Add the garlic towards the end of cooking.
Remove the onion and garlic, then fry the celery, thinly sliced and pepper, cored and sliced, till soft.
Remove and add to the onion.

Rinse the salt from the aubergines, pat them dry with kitchen paper then soften in the same pan.
As it approaches tenderness, return the onion and garlic, celery and pepper to the pan, stir and continue cooking over a gentle heat.
Stir in the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, raisins, red wine vinegar, sugar, capers, olives and 150ml water.
Season.

Leave to simmer, gently, for about 25 minutes, keeping a careful eye to ensure you end up with a soft tangle of sweet-sour vegetables.
Chill overnight.
Serve with crusty bread.

Chorizo, chickpea and red pepper stew.

From Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cooking chorizo, around 350g, cut into 2cm chunks
2 onions, diced
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 jar flame-grilled red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
750 ml chicken or vegetable stock
Small bunch of parsley, tough stalks removed and roughly chopped

Method
Warm the olive oil over a medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan or casserole dish and sauté the chorizo for a couple of minutes, until it releases its spicy red fat and just begins to take on a little colour.
Remove the chorizo from the pan and reserve in a bowl.
Lower the heat a little and gently fry the onions with the bay leaf and a pinch of salt, stirring from time to time, until soft.
This should take around 15 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté for a further minute.
Return the chorizo to the pan with the peppers and chickpeas and stir for a minute.
Add the tomatoes and stock and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Stir in half of the parsley and serve in warmed bowls with the rest of the parsley scattered over the top, with some crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Caponata. By Giorgio Locatelli.

- Caponata d’estate recipe - Telegraph By Giorgio Locatelli!
Serves 4
Summer caponata, made with aubergines, courgettes, celery, fennel, tomatoes, olives, sultanas and pine nuts, when all the vegetables are at their best, is the most famous, outside Sicily.
Often, some chunks of good bread are added, and then the dish is called 'pane a caponata’.
Ingredients
1 large aubergine
100g whole black olives in brine
50g pine nuts
400g country bread, cut into cubes of about 2cm (optional)
olive oil for frying
1 onion, cut into 2cm dice
2 celery stalks, cut into 2cm dice
1 tbsp tomato passata
1 tbsp caster sugar
5 tbsp good-quality red wine vinegar
vegetable oil for deep-frying
half fennel bulb, cut into 2cm dice
1 courgette, cut into 2cm dice
3 fresh plum tomatoes, cut into 2cm dice
a bunch of fresh basil
50g sultanas
about 100ml extra-virgin olive oil

Cut the aubergine into 2cm dice, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain in a colander for at least two hours.
Squeeze lightly to remove excess liquid.

Drain the olives and pat dry.
Then crush them lightly and take out the stones.

Heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Lay the pine nuts in a single layer on a baking tray and put into the oven for around eight minutes.
As long as they are in a single layer you don’t need to turn them.
Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn, and when they are golden, take them out and chop them.
Spread the cubes of bread (if using) on a separate baking tray and toast for five to 10 minutes, until golden.
Set the pine nuts and bread aside.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan.
Add the onion, celery and olives and cook until soft but not coloured, then add the tomato passata.
Mix the sugar and vinegar together in a cup and add to the pan.
Bring to the boil, then take off the heat and transfer the contents of the pan to a big bowl.
Heat about 4cm of vegetable oil in a deep pan, making sure it comes no higher than a third of the way up the pan. (If you have a thermometer, the temperature should be 180C, otherwise, to test if it is hot enough, sprinkle in a little flour or breadcrumbs; if the oil is ready, the flour will fry.)
Add the fennel and deep-fry for one to two minutes, until tender and golden.
Lift out and drain on kitchen paper.
Wait until the oil comes up to the right temperature again, then repeat with the aubergine, followed by the courgette.

Add all the deep-fried vegetables to the bowl containing the onion, celery and olives, together with the diced tomatoes.
Tear the basil leaves and add them to the bowl, along with the sultanas, pine nuts and the extra-virgin olive oil.
Season well, and mix together gently.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm while the vegetables are still warm and leave to infuse for at least two hours at room temperature.

Mix in the toasted bread, if using, and leave to infuse for another 20 minutes before serving.
Don’t put the bowl in the fridge, because it is during the process in which the vegetables steam a little under the clingfilm and then come down in temperature very slowly that 'the savoury merges into the sweet and the sweet into the savoury’.

Note:
In every house and in every restaurant you will find a different version and an opinion.
The truth is, it is made with whatever vegetables the people have, depending on the season, but the principle is always the same: the vegetables are fried, each one separately, to retain the integrity of each flavour, then combined in a sweet and sour sauce.

Caponata from 'River Cottage Veg' .

Caponata from 'River Cottage Veg' | Serious Eats
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's version in River Cottage Veg calls for an ingredient I had never thought to include in my caponatas: chocolate.
Why I picked this recipe: Had to try this chocolate-laced version of my favorite summer spread.
What worked: The ingredient list may be long, but the balance of this caponata is on point.
What didn't: I thought the eggplant could have used a little more time frying.
I ended up needing to add a bit of water to the final simmering stew in order to give it more time on the stovetop.
Suggested tweaks: You could play with the ingredients here if you'd like, but keep in mind that the final dish is supposed to have a bright sweet-and-sour flavor.

Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants (about 
1 pound/500g), cut into 
1/2-inch (1-cm) cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 inner celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
6 large plum or other ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped or a 14-ounce (400g) can plum tomatoes, chopped, any stalky ends and skin removed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated dark chocolate (optional)
1/3 cup (50g) golden raisins
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
2 ounces (60g) pitted green olives, sliced
A good handful of flat-leaf parsley or mint, chopped, 
to finish

Directions:
1. Put the eggplant cubes into a large colander and sprinkle with 
2 teaspoons of salt.
Toss together and then leave to draw out the juices for about half an hour...let stand at least 2 hours.
Rinse the eggplant and pat/squeeze dry with a kitchen towel.

2. While the eggplant is salting, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan over fairly low heat.
Add the onion, celery, and garlic and fry for about 10 minutes until tender and golden.
Add the tomatoes with their juice and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce a little.

3. Now add the balsamic vinegar; sugar; chocolate, if using; golden raisins; capers; and olives to the pan.
Simmer for another 5 to 
10 minutes, stirring often, then turn off the heat.

4. In a large frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.
OR: olive oil—about 1 cm deep—in a large pot until it reaches 190C, or a breadcrumb dropped in browns immediately.
Work in batches to avoid crowding the eggplant!
When hot, fry the eggplant cubes for about 
5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender.
Drain on kitchen paper.
Tip them into the tomato mixture.

5. Return to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and leave until completely cooled.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.

6. You can serve the caponata right away or leave it in the fridge or 
a very cool place for a day or two to allow the flavors to deepen even further; bring it to room temperature before serving.
Sprinkle with plenty of chopped parsley or mint just before serving.

Caponata. By Anna del Conte.

Eggplants in a Sweet-and-Sour Sauce.
Caponata, a Sicilian creation, appears in many different versions throughout the island.
The dish can be garnished with tiny boiled octopus, with a small lobster, with shrimp, or with bottarga (the dried roe of the mullet or tuna fish), a speciality of Sicily and Sardinia

Ingredients
Serves 4
700 gr eggplants
vegetable oil for frying
salt
the inner sticks of 1 celery head, coarse strings removed
7 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, very finely sliced
225 gr canned plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 tbsp grated bittersweet chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
4 tbsp capers, preferably in salt, rinsed
One third cup large green olives, pitted and quartered
2 hard-boiled, free-range eggs

Method
Cut the eggplants into 1-2 cm cubes.
Heat 2-3 cm vegetable oil in a skillet.
When the oil is hot, add a layer of eggplants and fry until golden brown on all sides.
Drain on paper towels, sprinkling each batch lightly with salt; repeat until all the eggplants are cooked.

Wash and dry the celery and cut into pieces the same size as the eggplants.
Fry in the oil in which the eggplants were cooked until golden and crisp; drain on paper towels.

Pour the olive oil into a clean skillet and add the onion.
Saute gently for about 10 minutes until soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat for about 15 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.

While the sauce is cooking, heat the sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan.
Add the chocolate, capers, and olives and simmer the mixture until the chocolate melts.
Add to the tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes longer.

Mix the eggplants and celery into the tomato sauce.
Stir and cook for 20 minutes so the flavours of the ingredients blend together.
Pour the caponata into a serving dish and leave to cool.

Before serving, cover the caponata with the hard-boiled eggs which have been passed through the smallest holes of a food mill, or pushed through a metal strainer.

Caponata is one of the recipes in Anna del Conte's Gastronomy of Italy (Pavilion Books, ISBN: 1862051666, 29.95).

Azu.

Azu, the Tatar meat stew.

On one portion:
meat (beef or lamb) 150-160 g,
ghee - 15 g,
tomato-puree or skinless tomatoes, chopped - 16 g,
pickled or salted cucumbers, sliced - 60 g,
potato - 150 g,
onion - 35 g,
beef broth
salt, pepper, garlic.

Cut the beef into 1 cm slices first (across grain) and then into thick 'fingers' (ca 1x4 cm).
Heat the ghee in a heavy saucepan and brown the meat.
Slice the onions quarter - rings and fry it (ghee only!) to amber color and transparency.
Put in a pan the meat, onions, tomatoes, salt, pepper.
Stir and let simmer (on low heat) a few minutes.
Then add broth enough to barely cover the meat and simmer for 40 minutes on low heat (try meat - if insufficient soft - increase the time).

Meanwhile:
- cut a few cucumbers (I have 6 little) into strips.
Braise cucumbers in a small amount of broth for 10-15 minutes.
- cut the potatoes into cubes or matchstick and fry (ghee only!) until golden brown but semi-ready, raw inside.

So, it is time to add potatoes, cucumbers to the meat and stir gently.
Put on low heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked.
But it can be about an hour.
Cut the garlic, herbs tear by hands...sprinkle and serve - you’re done!

How to cook perfect beef stew.

How to cook perfect beef stew | Life and style | The Guardian
A word of warning
Lots of stew recipes call for very gentle cooking – but beware, they still need to simmer.
As the New York Times food writer, and general food science genius, Harold McGee explains in his book The Curious Cook,
- "strands of beef collagen don't even begin to unravel until the temperature exceeds 140F (60C), and they don't dissolve into gelatin in any appreciable quantity below 180F (82C)"
– so all that those chewy bits will stay just that unless you keep the stew relatively hot.

A hearty stew should be a simple affair – beefy, savoury, and crowned with a ring of fluffy dumplings. No garlic required.

Perfect beef stew:
Serves 4 – 6

800g shin of beef
2 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
Beef dripping, butter or oil
2 onions, sliced
300ml beef stock
300ml stout
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of thyme
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunky slices
2 small turnips, peeled and cut into chunks

For the dumplings:
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g suet
Small bunch of chives and parsley, finely chopped

1. Trim the beef of its outer sinew and cut into large chunks. Toss with the seasoned flour to coat. Heat a heavy-bottomed casserole or pan on a medium flame and add a knob of dripping or butter, or a couple of tablespoons of oil. Brown the meat in batches, adding more fat if necessary – be careful not to overcrowd the pan, or it will boil in its own juices – then transfer to a bowl. Scrape the bottom of the pan regularly to prevent any residue from burning.

2. Once all the meat is browned, add some more fat to the pan and cook the onions until soft and slightly browned. Add them to the beef and then pour in a little stock and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add the beef and onions, the rest of the stock and the stout, season, and add the herbs. Bring to the boil, then partially cover, turn down the heat, and simmer gently for two hours.

3. Add the carrots and turnips, and simmer for about another hour, until the meat is tender enough to cut with a spoon. Leave to cool, overnight if possible, and then lift the solidified fat off the top and bring to a simmer.

4. Meanwhile, make the dumplings by sifting the flour into a bowl and adding the rest of the ingredients and just enough cold water to bring it together into a dough. Roll it into 6 dumplings and add these to the stew. Partially cover and simmer for 25 minutes, then check the seasoning of the gravy, and serve with steamed greens.

Is there anything to touch stew and dumplings for sheer nostalgic cockle-warming, and can the British version hold its head high in the face of international competition? If not – seriously, what's better?

Goulash by Felicity Cloake.

How to cook the perfect goulash | Life and style | The Guardian
Felicity Cloake's perfect goulash.
Thick meat stew.

(serves 4)
600g shin of beef (or chuck steak if unavailable)
3 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp caraway seeds
2 tbsp lard
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, cut into rounds
Juice of 1 lemon
150ml sour cream (optional)
Chives (optional)

Cut the beef into large chunks.
Mix the paprika, flour, salt and caraway seeds together in a bowl then add the beef and toss to coat.
Heat the oven to 140C/gas mark 1.

Melt the lard in a heavy-based casserole dish over a medium-high heat, and then brown the meat in batches, being very careful not to crowd the pan.
Remove when golden and crusted, and set aside.

Scrape the bottom of the pan and add the onions and pepper, adding a little more fat if necessary.
Cook until soft and starting to brown, then pick out the peppers and set aside.
Stir the remaining flour and spice mixture into the onions and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring.
Return the beef to the pan and add water just to cover.
Scrape the bottom of the pan again, then put in the oven for 2.5 hours.

Stir the peppers and lemon juice into the goulash and cook for another half hour, or until the meat is very tender - you can remove the lid to let the sauce reduce if you like.
Check the seasoning, then dollop the sour cream, if using, on top of the goulash and snip the chives over it all before serving with crushed boiled potatoes or egg noodles.

Shop Paprika!

Goulash:
- Beef Goulash Soup with Tiny Dumplings

- Authentic Hungarian Goulash by June Meyer.
Meyer has the right idea when she says: "You can never use too much paprika. I like to use three tablespoons." And hurrah for that.
Meyer can afford to be heavy handed with the paprika, because her recipe contains very little else: "My family would never consider tomatoes or green peppers or other spices in goulash. Some other dishes would have tomato or green pepper, but not goulash."

- Thoughts for Food: Kettle Gulyas - recipe from Hungarian-American restaurateur George Lang's Cuisine of Hungary (1971), the first work in English on Hungarian cooking.

- Simply, it's goulash perfection - Page 2 - tribunedigital-chicagotribune - Hungarian goulash soup (Gulyas leves) By George Erdosh, Special to the Tribune.

- The Best Gulyás Recipe | The Hungary Dish

Goulash by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Hot food for cold days recipes | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall | Life and style | The Guardian
In Hungary, the simple meal of meat and onions seasoned with paprika is called gulyás leves (Hung) /Goulash soup/ – which means cowboy's or cattle driver's soup.
What we think of as goulash, a soupy, stewy rib-sticker to which sour cream has been added, is more correctly called paprikás.
Whatever you call it, though, there are few dishes more comforting on a cold day.
Serves six.

3 tbsp vegetable oil, rendered pork fat or lard
2 onions, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
½ tsp caraway seeds
1kg beef shin, cut into 3cm cubes
1 ½ tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
2 green peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into thin strips
3 medium-sized tomatoes, cored, deseeded and diced
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve
Sour cream and chives

Warm a tablespoon of oil or fat in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat and fry the onions until they are soft and translucent, about 15 minutes.
Add the garlic and caraway seeds, fry for a further minute, then scrape the onion mixture into a bowl.

Raise the heat, add the rest of the oil or fat and brown the meat on all sides.
Remove from the heat, return the onions to the pan along with the paprika and cayenne, and stir until the meat is well coated with onions and spices.
Add the bay leaf and just enough water to cover the meat by about 3cm.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for about an hour, until the meat is tender.
Add the peppers, tomatoes and potatoes.
Season and simmer for a further 20 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some chives.

Viennese gulasch. By Rick Stein.

BBC Food - Recipes - Viennese gulasch. Гуляш.
Ingredients
100g lard
1.25kg onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp sweet paprika
1.5 tbsp hot paprika, to taste
0.5 tsp caraway seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar
1 tsp brown sugar
1.5 tsp salt
12 turns of the black pepper mill
2 tsp cider vinegar
1.5kg shin of beef, cut into 3cm/1in pieces
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Method
Heat the lard in a large pot and fry the onions until they are deep golden brown.
Add the garlic, cook for a minute, then add the tomato purée, paprikas, crushed caraway seeds, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar and cover with 1 litre pints of water.

Bring to a boil, then add the beef.
Turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for 2 and half hours.
Check the pan fairly frequently and stir, adding more water to cover the meat if necessary.
Check the meat for tenderness, if not tender add a little more water and cook for a little longer.
Remove the meat when done and, if needed, continue to cook the liquid to thicken the sauce.
Serve sprinkled with a little chopped parsley with new potatoes, spatzle or dark rye bread.

Lentil and Rhubarb Stew With Indian Spices.

Recipe of the Day: Lentil and Rhubarb Stew With Indian Spices - The New York Times

Any lentils, including the tiny dark green de Puy lentils from France, will work here, but I prefer orange ones because they are incredibly quick-cooking and nicely colored.
Also, I\'d stay away from adding other full-flavored vegetables - I tried both beets and turnips while developing this dish - because they overcomplicate the nearly perfect marriage of flavors.

Ingredients
3 or 4 stalks rhubarb, strings removed, chopped
1 cup orange lentils, well washed
2\r\n tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 cloves
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 dried ancho or other mild chili, optional
Salt
Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
Method
Combine all ingredients except salt and cilantro in a saucepan and add water to cover by about 2.54 cm.
Cook at a steady simmer until lentils and rhubarb are quite soft, 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove cloves and, if you like, cardamom pods.
Add salt, then taste and adjust seasoning.
Garnish with cilantro and serve.

- Lentil and Rhubarb Stew With Indian Spices (& other savory rhubarb ideas) | the taste space

Chicken cacciatora.

How to cook the perfect chicken cacciatora | Life and style | The Guardian
Cacciatore - a meal prepared "hunter-style" with onions, herbs, usually tomatoes, often bell peppers, and sometimes wine.
Or Cacciatore - pollo alla cacciatora - hunter's chicken, is a classic Italian dish.
Or Slow Cooked Rustic Italian Stew.
The perfect chicken cacciatora
(Serves 4)
Knob of butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken legs, divided into thighs and drumsticks (skin removed if desired)
Seasoned flour, to dust
2 heads of garlic, cut horizontally
Small bunch of rosemary
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stick of celery, diced
Half a glass of white wine
250ml decent chicken stock
100g tinned plum tomatoes in juice, roughly chopped (or 100g really ripe fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped)

Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy-based casserole dish over a medium-high heat.
Dust the chicken pieces in seasoned flour, then fry them in batches until golden brown on all sides.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Fry the garlic, rosemary, carrot and celery, with a little more oil if necessary, for a few minutes until slightly golden.

Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to dislodge any crusty bits, then simmer until well reduced.

Tip in the stock and tomatoes, and replace the chicken.
Bring to a simmer, cover, turn down the heat and cook gently for 45 minutes, until the meat is falling from the bone.

Season to taste and serve with a green salad, rice or polenta.

Chicken Cacciatore.

Chicken Cacciatore Recipe on Food52
Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian.
In cuisine, alla cacciatora refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style”.
A basic cacciatore recipe usually begins with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil heated in a large frying pan.
Chicken parts, dusted with salt and pepper, are seared in the oil for three to four minutes on each side.
The chicken is removed from the pan, and most of the fat poured off.
The remaining fat is used to fry the onions, peppers or other vegetables for several minutes.
A small can of peeled tomatoes (drained of liquid and chopped coarsely) is typically added to the pan along with rosemary and a half cup of dry red wine.
Bay leaf may be used, along with chopped carrot to give extra sweetness.
The seared chicken parts are returned to the pan which is then covered.
The dish is done after about an hour at a very low simmer.
Cacciatore is often served with a rustic bread or pasta on the side.

Makes 4 servings
Olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of a large skillet with a lid
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 cup all-purpose flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded, cored, and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cored, and sliced
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 ounces white or brown button mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
One can whole plum tomatoes
200 gram tomato sauce
200 ml chicken broth
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup torn fresh oregano leaves
Grated parmesan for serving
Cooked pasta or soft polenta for serving

Coat the skillet with olive oil, up the sides of the pan about 6mm, and heat.
Dredge the chicken thighs in the seasoned flour and brown each side until golden.
Remove the thighs and set aside.
Drain the oil from the skillet and add the chopped bacon.
Cook until almost crisp and then add the 2 peppers, onions, garlic, and mushrooms.
Sauté for a few minutes.
Stir in the dried basil, dried oregano, ground fennel, red pepper flakes, and salt.
Continue to sauté until you can smell the garlic, another few minutes.
Crush the plum tomatoes with your clean hands to break them up and add to the skillet along with the juices from the can.
Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth.
Return the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin side up, and bathe the sauce over the pieces.
Bring everything up to a simmer and continue to simmer, partially covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.
After the 30 to 40 minute simmer, stir in the fresh basil and oregano.
Serve a chicken thigh and some of the sauce with peppers over spaghetti or some soft polenta.
Shower a little Parmesan over the top and enjoy!

Chickpea Cacciatore (stew).

Chickpea Cacciatore Recipe on Food52
In cuisine, alla cacciatora refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style" with onions, herbs, usually tomatoes, often bell peppers, and sometimes wine.
Author Notes: A vegan take on the classic cacciatore, featuring meaty chickpeas, hearty mushrooms, sweet sundried tomatoes and a pop of bright orange.
Serves 6

1 cup chopped onion
1/2 pound cremini(portabello) mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked chickpeas
1 can whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands (leave a little texture)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, packed, rehydrated in water, drained and sliced into strips
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onions, mushrooms and garlic.
Continue to cook over medium heat until the vegetables are softened (about 10 minutes).
Add a splash of water if the mixture dries out.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook on low for 1 hour.
Serve with polenta, brown rice or quinoa, and freshly chopped parsley.

Slow Cooker Bean and Chorizo Stew.

Adapted from: Slow Cooker Bean and Chorizo Stew | Williams-Sonoma Taste
Warm up on cold days with spicy Latin flavors. Chorizo sausage puts a kick into this slow-cooker stew, which is extra satisfying due to the double dose of protein from beans and the meat.

Spicy Red Bean and Chorizo Stew

1 tin can (400 g) red kidney beans rinsed (Aduki bean - sometimes transliterated as azuki or aduki)
2 Tbs. canola oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups beef or chicken broth
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 bay leaves
200 g cured Spanish-style chorizo, cut into slices 6 mm thick
Hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
Cooked white rice for serving

In a large, heavy fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil.
Add the onion, celery and bell pepper and sauté until softened and just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes.
Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in 1 cup (250 ml) of the broth and stir to scrape up any browned bits on the pan bottom.
Transfer the contents of the pan to a slow cooker and stir in the drained beans, remaining 1 cups (250 ml) broth, the vinegar, pepper flakes to taste, bay leaves and chorizo.
Cover and cook on the low setting for 6 to 8 hours, stirring once or twice.
The beans should be very tender.

Discard the bay leaves.
Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco.
If desired, using the back of a spoon, mash some of the beans against the inside of the cooker to thicken the stew.

Spoon rice into shallow bowls, top with the stew, and serve.
Serves 6 to 8.

Note: For dried red kidney beans: - Place the beans in a large bowl with cold water to cover and soak for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. (For a quick soak, combine the beans and water to cover in a large pot, bring to a boil, remove from the heat, cover and soak for 1 hour.)
Drain and rinse the beans.

Cabbage. Smothered Cabbage, Venetian Style.

Weeknight Cabbage Recipes
- Marcella Hazan's Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup Recipe on Food52
Once you've turned diced onion a deep golden-brown on the stovetop, you'll add a heap of finely shredded cabbage, 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar, salt, and pepper, and then cover the pan and leave it to cook for longer than seems reasonable: 1 1/2 hours (and that's the minimum).

Smothered Cabbage, Venetian Style
The technique involves cooking in a covered pan over low heat with a small amount of liquid, and can be seen as a form of stove-top braising.

1 kg green, red, or Savoy cabbage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 tablespoon wine vinegar, white or red

Detach and discard the first few outer leaves of the cabbage.
The remaining head of leaves must be shredded very fine.
If you are going to do it by hand, cut the leaves into fine shreds, slicing them off the whole head.
Turn the head after you have sliced a section of it until gradually you expose the entire core, which must be discarded.
If you want to use the food processor, cut the leaves off from the core in sections, discard the core and process the leaves through a shredding attachment.

Put the onion and olive oil into a large sauté pan, and turn the heat on to medium.
Cook and stir the onion until it becomes colored a deep gold, then add the garlic.
When you have cooked the garlic until it becomes colored a very pale gold, add the shredded cabbage.
Turn the cabbage over 2 or 3 times to coat it well, and cook it until it is wilted.

Add salt, pepper, and the vinegar.
Turn the cabbage over once completely, lower the heat to minimum, and cover the pan tightly.
Cook for at least 1 1/2 hours, or until it is very tender, turning it from time to time.
If while it is cooking, the liquid in the pan should become insufficient, add 2 tablespoons water as needed.
When done, taste and correct for salt and pepper.
Allow it to settle a few minutes off heat before serving.
Note: The smothered cabbage can be prepared 2 or 3 days ahead of the soup, or served as a side dish from here.
It also freezes well.

Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup

The Smothered Cabbage, from above
3 cups homemade meat broth (we used beef here, but chicken is also good), or 1 cup canned beef broth, diluted with 2 cups water
2/3 cup rice, preferably Italian Arborio rice
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

Put the cabbage and broth into a soup pot, and turn on the heat to medium.
When the broth comes to a boil, add the rice.
Cook uncovered, adjusting the heat so that the soup bubbles at a slow, but steady boil, stirring from time to time until the rice is done.
It must be tender, but firm to the bite, and should take around 20 minutes.
If while the rice is cooking, you find the soup becoming too thick, add a ladelful of homemade broth.
If you are not using homemade broth, just add water.
Remember that when finished, the soup should be rather dense, but there should still be some liquid.
When the rice is done, before turning off the heat, swirl in the butter and the grated Parmesan, stirring thoroughly.
Taste and correct for salt, and add a few grindings of black pepper.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls, and allow it to settle just a few minutes before serving.
Serve with more grated Parmesan.