Hungarian red wine with beef stew

This is a well-known and well-loved Hungarian dish and it's very easy to make. I made this in a traditional way, which requires 3-4 hours of cooking, but no other special skills. Of course you can make it in a pressure cooker – that way it's ready in an hour. I used red wine to make the stew more flavorful but it's optional. I served it with "Tarhonya", which is a Hungarian pasta side-dish. Nokedli/Galuska (small Hungarian dumplings) are also a good choice to serve with the stew. Or you can eat it on it's own with a slice of bread and some pickles.

Ingredients for the stew (for 4-6 people) 1,5 kg (3,3lb) beef shank cut into 2cm (1 inch) cubes 4 tbsp lard (use Mangalica – if you can get it) 3 onion 1 tomato 1 pepper (yellow or green) 2 cloves garlic 3-4 tbsp Hungarian paprika 1-2 tsp salt 1-2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp caraway seeds 1 tsp “Erős Pista” /Strong Steve/ (hot pepper paste) – optional Water 200 ml red wine (optional)

Prepair:

1. Chop the onion finely. 2. Heat the lard in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion and cook on low heat until it's soft and golden. 3. Add the diced beef, stir well and cook on medium to high heat until the meat is turning white and well-seared all over. 4. Add the salt and the paprika, mix well and cook for a couple of minutes. 5. Pour over 150-200 ml water, add the freshly ground black pepper and the caraway seeds. 6. Cook the stew on low heat, uncovered for 3-4 hours, checking and stirring now and then, addig more (another 150-200 ml) water when needed. 7. Once or twice you can add red wine instead of water (it's optional, you can use water only) 8. Stem and deseed the pepper and chop into large pieces and dice the tomato too. 9. Crush the garlic cloves. 10. After 2 hours of cooking add the pepper, tomato, garlic to the stew and pour over some water again. 11. You can also add 1-2 tsp hot pepper paste (Erős Pista) if you prefer. 12. Stir well, and continue cooking. 13. After 3-4 hours of cooking the meat should be soft and the stew has a thick, creamy sauce. While the stew is cooking, you can make the Tarhonya side-dish: Ingredients: 35 dkg (0,8lb) Tarhonya (Hungarian dried pasta - small rounds shape) (substitute: Ronzoni brand has a similar pasta, called: Acini de Pepe) 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tsp salt 750-800 ml (about 3,3 cup) water 1. Heat the oil in a large pan 2. Add the Tarhonya, and cook on low heat, stirring continuously until it's nice golden-brown (it takes about 10 minutes) 3. Carefully pour over the water, add the salt and stir well. 4. Cover and cook on low heat about 25 minutes 5. Stir it occasionally to prevent sticking and clumping together. Cover and continue cooking. 6. It's ready when all the water is absorbed and the pasta is soft.

Everything is ready, now serve the Beef Stew with tTarhonya! You can add some dollop of sour cream, slices of hot pepper and chopped parsley – but those are optional. ENJOY!