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Hungarian goulash soup, Gulyáslevles

Hungarian Goulash Recipe - Gulyásleves

Hungarian goulash is a beef dish cooked with onions, Hungarian paprika powder, tomatoes, and some green pepper. Carrot, parsley root, potatoes, and pinched noodles (csipetke in Hungarian) are also added.Pasta or pastry dishes, especially the ones made with cottage cheese (pancake, dumplings, strudel) go down well after the heavy soup.
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Hungarian
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Soup pot
  • Cutting board
  • Chef's knife
  • Peeler
  • Measuring spoons
  • Wodden spoon
  • Plate

Ingredients
  

For the soup

  • 1 pound beef shank or neck or stew meat
  • 3 Spanish onions medium
  • 1 tomato medium
  • 1 sweet pepper (cubanelle, wax pepper, banana pepper)
  • 2-3 tbsp sweet paprika powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 10-15 whole black peppercorn
  • 2 carrots medium
  • 1 parsley root or parsnip medium
  • 2 potatoes medium
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil canola or sunflower. You can use lard instead of oil

For the pinch noodles (Csipetke)

  • 1 egg
  • all purpse flour
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions
 

  • In a large soup pot, sauté the onions in vegetable oil or pork lard over low heat, stirring frequently, until translucent. Do not let them burn. Salt lightly to help tenderize them. The onions should be cut into very, very small pieces. This is essential in order to achieve the “stew consistency”. Add a small amount of water, if necessary, to keep them from sticking to the pan.
  • Remove the pot from the heat, add 2 tablespoons of sweet Hungarian paprika, stir in. The onions should be red (not orange), if needed, add more paprika. Do not burn the paprika, or it will become bitter. Add the tomatoes, the sweet yellow pepper and the meat, and stir again.
  • Add the bay leaves, the peppercorns, and about 6 cups of water. Salt to taste. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is tender, adding water as necessary. It takes about 1.5-2 hours.
  • Add the peeled, sliced carrots and the parsley roots or parsnips, the ground caraway seeds, and the minced garlic. Salt to taste. Cover, bring back to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer. Add the potatoes and the Csipetke (pinched noodles) when the vegetables are half tender and cook until the vegetables (including the potatoes) are tender.

How to make pinch noodles (csipetke) for the goulash

  • The amount of dough you can make with one egg is enough for a recipe for 8 people. I always use only about 1/2 of one beaten egg.
  • In a medium bowl mix together 50% of one beaten egg, the salt and the flour, and knead with your fingertips until a firm, smooth dough forms. You add the flour step by step until it comes together into a soft not sticky dough.
  • Pinch off small pieces of dough about the size of a lemon seed and roll them. Drop them into the soup and cook for about 8-10 minutes.
Hungarian goulash soup, Gulyáslevles
Keyword Goulash, Goulash soup