Ingredients
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3 pounds beef stew meat (chuck or round)
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Kosher Salt
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freshly ground pepper
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1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
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2 large onions
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5 tbsp all purpose flour
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3 tbsp tomato paste
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2 tbsp sweet paprika
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4 cloves of garlic
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2 tsp Dried marjoram
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4 cups Water
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thinly sliced red or white onionto garnish
Directions
Similar to other traditional dishes, guláš came into existence in a neighboring country. Its roots can be traced to the 9th century. Around this time, the dish was more of a meat soup rather than the main course stew we know of in contemporary Czech cuisine. While upon crossing the border the consistency of the dish changes, the nature of it remains the same.
Czech guláš lacks the original carrots and csipetke balls but is still loaded with big chunks of tender beef and onions spiced with paprika. And unlike Hungarians, the Czechs like their sauces and stews rich and thick, and therefore they thicken their version of guláš with flour. The resulting chunky sauce/stew is then served with either dumplings or slices of sourdough bread and garnished with raw onion. Similar to vepřo knedlo zelo, you can’t fully enjoy this hearty Czech lunch without a proper ice-cold Czech beer.
Preparation:
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Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches for about 3 to 5 minutes per batch. Set the seared meat aside as you complete each batch.
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Add the onions to the empty pot and cook until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Next, add the flour, tomato paste, paprika, garlic, and dried marjoram. Stir and cook for 1 minute, then add the water, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste and flour, and scraping up any of the fond (the dark brown residue from searing the beef) still left on the bottom of the pan.
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Return the seared beef and any residual juices to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 1 ½ hours. Then uncover and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, until the beef is fork-tender and the liquid has thickened. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
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Serve on a flat plate with a slight lip around the edge, topped with sliced onion for garnish, and a few slices of Czech dumplings or bread on the side to soak up the sauce.
