Goulash

Years ago, I went to Budapest on a stag weekend.  I'd love to go back - we were drunk for most of it so I'd really like to see what the place looks like without beer goggles on!  Even in a highly intoxicated state though, it's a beautiful city inhabited by some lovely people.

On the first night, we did a guided pub crawl and one of the first pubs we went to was a little local place, much like an English pub, with low wood-beam ceilings, small windows and old blokes in the corner drinking pints.  There was precisely one item on the menu: big bowls of goulash with chunks of crusty bread, for about £2 a portion.  That's what pub food should be about: cheap, simple, hearty food.  I loved it.

We occasionally order meat from Donald Russell.  Their stuff is not cheap, but it it worth it - the quality of the meat is just fantastic.  We tend to make an order when they have a special offer on, and we recently got a half price braising pack, full of slow-cooking cuts.  As soon as it arrived, I knew the beef rib trim was destined to be goulash!

 

Like most slow-cooker dishes, this is as easy as can be - just fry the ingredients to add colour and flavour, chuck it all in the slow cooker, and leave until you're hungry.

You want to sweat an onion gently but sear the meat as hot as possible, so I used two pans.

Throw them in the slow cooker with a couple of tomatoes, chopped up into small pieces, two teaspoonfuls of smoked paprika, a couple of good pinches of chilli flakes and a litre of beef stock.  I had a bell pepper in the fridge that was a bit past its best, so I threw the best bits of that in too.  The Donald Russell package came with stock bones included, so I had lovely home-made stock - a cube will do though.

Cook on low for at least four hours, and serve with nice crusty bread.

Taste verdict

It was really good, but I take no credit - just really good ingredients simply cooked.  If you can afford to, it is worth investing money in good ingredients and Donald Russell meat is as good as it claims to be.

The skinny
Sweat an onion and put into the slow cooker

Dice 440g beef  rib trim, season with salt and pepper, fry and put into the slow cooker

Chop two tomatoes - you know where to put them

Add 1litre beef stock, two teaspoonfuls of smoked paprika and two good pinches of chilli flakes

Cook on low for at least four hours

WeightWatchers ProPoints
9 for the goulash, plus bread (or rice, or whatever carb you want to serve it with)