TRADITIONAL HUNGARIAN GULYÁS (GOULASH) – BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

How could Ben and I have gone to the beautiful country of Hungary without learning to cook their national dish: goulash!

A staple Hungarian comfort food, goulash or gulyás, is a stew comprising of beef, a variety of vegetables, and LOTS of paprika! It is a dish eaten across central Europe but is predominantly a symbol of Hungary, its culture, and its history.

Goulash originates from Hungarian shepherds in the 9th century where it was actually stored in ‘bags’ made from the stomachs of sheep. Errr…yeah, we were very happy that we weren’t made to eat the goulash from sheeps’ stomachs during our cooking class and for that, we give our sincerest thanks to our teacher!

There are typical ingredients used in a goulash – beef, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes…but substitutions are welcomed including the addition of different vegetables and even mini dumplings! However, one thing must remain constant: THE PAPRIKA!

Our Cooking Class Experience

Ben and I were staying in an apartment in Pest, to the east of the Danube River in close proximity to the Széchenyi thermal baths. Our apartment was quite far away from the cooking class had we decided to walk, so we had to take a taxi to take us further south of the city. It was so lovely to just sit back and take in the sights and sounds of Budapest in a different way than usual, and was a nice little break from walking everywhere!

We used Airbnb Experiences for our cooking class in Budapest and were able to choose what traditional Hungarian recipes we wanted to learn how to cook with our teacher. Dorí warmly welcomed us into her lovely home in the outer suburbs of Budapest and offered us slippers and a shot of Hungarian pálinka before cooking. If that burning shot of fruity spirit didn’t give us the oomph to get cooking I don’t know what would have!

We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as Ben and I did! Let us know of any additions or substitutions you make – but remember to always keep the paprika!

For another world soupy stew, why not try my heartwarming Viennese potato soup?

Jó étvágyat!

–ARIA

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