How to Cook Goulash
A favorite Hungarian dish, goulash a soup that is both delicious and easy to cook. Although the American version is very similar to “Hamburger Helper”, goulash can still be considered a soup depending on how much liquid is drained from the dish once it is all cooked.
Ingredients:
· 1 lb. ground beef
· 1 can stewed or diced tomatoes
· 1 cup of water
· 1 cup of elbow macaroni
· ½–1 ½ cups of cheese
· Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation time: 5–10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Feeds approximately four people
Brown the beef
Grab a medium-sized frying pan and place it over medium-high heat. Place 1 lb. of ground beef on the pan to begin browning it. Be sure to stir it every now and then ensuring that no red is left in the entire pound of beef.
Bring beef, tomatoes, and water to a boil
Once the meat has been browned, drain the fat if desired. Return the beef to medium-high heat, and pour in the contents of 1 stewed tomatoes can as well as 1 cup of water. Increase the heat on high and wait for the ingredients to boil.
Add the macaroni
When the ingredients begin to boil, add 1 cup of elbow macaroni noodles to the mix. Stir in the noodles and ensure that every noodle is adequately doused in the mix to decrease the chance of burning the noodles.
Cover, stir, and wait…
Once the macaroni has been mixed in, cover the frying pan and reduce the heat to a simmer. The contents will continue to simmer until all of the macaroni is fully cooked. It is important to stir the noodles occasionally in order to avoid burning them.
Check the noodles
Check to see if the noodles are fully cooked by placing one in your hand and biting it in half. There should be no hardness felt. If the noodle feels too soggy, then they have been overcooked.
Top with cheese and salt & pepper
Drain the liquid if desired. Then mix in 1 cup of cheese and salt & pepper to taste.
Enjoy
Serve in bowls and Jó étvágyat (Hungarian for Bon Appetit)