Recipe: Beef Goulash Soup

This is a delicious traditional hungarian dish, that i've been making a lot at the moment because it's so cold in my new flat! BrrrrRRrrRR! In hungary, and in a lot of other cold countries (saw it in restaurants in Iceland and when i was in Prague) they serve goulash soup as a starter (rather than the traditional thicker goulash casserole served with potato dumplings, which is served as a main course). It is rather filling though! Traditionally you would use pork in this dish, but i used beef because that's just what I happened to have in the fridge. Only thing missing from this dish is parsley on top- forgot to get any from the shops- D'oh!

Beef Goulash Soup (serves 2)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled and diced
250g casserole or stewing steak, finely diced
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1.5 litres beef stock
1 bay leaf
1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

1. In a large pan, fry the onions, garlic and carrots in the oil and butter for 5 minutes. Add the beef and paprika, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients except the diced pepper and parsley, and cook on a medium high heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
3. 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the peppers. Remove the bay leaf, season to taste and serve topped with some chopped fresh parsley!