When my grandmother Numi, of blessed memory, wanted to make us a quick lunch that still felt like home, she made sausage goulash. She always had a few sausages in the freezer or Kabanos in the fridge, as meat was expensive and not always available.
Over the years, I learned she didn’t even like meat and preferred chicken, and most of the time, not even that. Only in her final months did I realize she mostly preferred carbohydrates, just like her granddaughter.
As a result, I rarely ate classic goulash as a child. Most of the time, it was the sausage or chicken version. In traditional Hungarian cuisine, goulash, unlike what many assume, is actually a beef soup red with paprika and made with potatoes.
In Israel, the soup became a stew; traditionally, it is served as a soup, whereas Paprikash is the thicker stew usually served with Nokedli, small dumplings also known as spätzle or Galuska.
To make sure vegetarians and vegans can also enjoy a comforting pot of goulash, I’ve included a version without any animal products. Smoked paprika adds a deep flavor reminiscent of kabanos, and the pumpkin brings sweetness that balances the dish.
Poor man’s sausage goulash
Ingredients:
- 5 tablespoons oil
- 2 large white onions, peeled
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 chili pepper
- 6 potatoes, peeled
- 10 chicken sausages
- 1 kabanos sausage
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 bunch parsley leaves
Instructions:
1. Dice the onions and slice the chili. Cut the sausages into four pieces each and chop the parsley. Cut the potatoes into large cubes.
2. In a wide sautage pot or a medium regular pot, fry the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and chili and fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add both types of sausages and cook for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
4. Pour in 3 1/2 cups water and cook for 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft.
Wonderful vegetarian goulash
Ingredients:
- 5 tablespoons oil
- 2 white or red onions, peeled
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 celery stalk with leaves
- 4 potatoes, peeled
- 1 piece pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled
- 1 carrot, peeled
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika or crushed chili
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 bunch parsley leaves
Instructions:
1. Dice the onions, parsley and celery.
2. Cut the potatoes and pumpkin into large cubes and slice the carrot into 1-centimeter rounds.
3. In a wide sautage pot or a medium regular pot, fry the onions and celery until translucent. Add the garlic, potatoes and pumpkin and fry for 5 minutes.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Pour in 4 cups water and cook for 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft.