Carrol's Family Goulash

CarrolJ's Note:

The other day my DSIL called and asked for my goulash recipe. She said her DH complained that her goulash tasted nothing like mine. (Evidently he loves my recipe according to her.) I sat down and put the recipe into an email for her. The way I make goulash today is a slight variation from the way my Mother made it when we were growing up. I was surprised to see that I had never posted this recipe before here at Zaar. Believe it or not I did check through all 375 goulash recipes posted and NONE of them were the same as this one. So for all posterity...here it is.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons instant minced onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced (I use the canned kind so I don't have to hand mince it.)
• 1/2 lb elbow macaroni
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon msg

Directions:

1. Cook the ground beef with the: 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoons instant minced onion, and 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic together until the juices run clear. Seasoning the meat while cooking is very important…it helps to give flavor to the meat itself.
2. Turn off the skillet and set aside.
3. Drain any residue fat if there is any in the meat.
4. Cook the macaroni in boiling water for about 8 or 9 minutes. This is important. DO NOT overcook…it should be very 'a la dente' or only about half cooked.
5. Drain the macaroni well; rinse with cold water and set aside. The cold water will help the macaroni to stop cooking and keep it from sticking while it waits to go into the skillet.
6. Add the tomato paste, 1/2 cup water and the stewed tomatoes to the meat. When adding the stewed tomatoes, pick up each tomato with your hand and squeeze it to crush it more as you put it in the pan.
7. Turn the heat back on.
8. Add the 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and the 1 teaspoon msg. This is when I begin to taste test the juices to see if it needs more salt and pepper.
9. Sometimes it looks too thick and I will add a little more water to the juices.
10. Add the macaroni and cook on low to medium heat ONLY until the juices are mostly cooked into the pasta.
11. I always taste test at the end in case it needs more seasonings.
12. Each piece of macaroni should be lightly coated with the red sauces of the tomato products when finished.
13. FIRST NOTE**
14. My Mother told me that the key to good goulash was the black pepper. She said that it should have a little ‘bite’ of the pepper and not be bland in flavor, or as Emerill would say…BAM!.
15. SECOND NOTE**.
16. There is nothing worse than overcooked pasta. It will get mushy if overcooked. Even when finished it should not be too soft.

Reviews

[PamC]

Very good. I think I'd like a little bell pepper, but probably without makes it more kid-friendly. I appreciate the suggestion about not overcooking the pasta, I precooked mine even less than the recipe called for, about 6 minutes, then i finished cooking with the meat/tomato mixture. Thanks for posting.

[CJAY]

I chose this recipe for my first ever try at making goulash because anyone who would take the time to check over 300 recipes must have something special. I'm glad I picked this one. It turned out great and I loved the explanations. I followed it to a T and my family wants me to put it in the tried and true file so I can make it often. Thanks for sharing this keeper!

[txn_mommy]

I was browsing recipes thinking about making soup on this rainy day and found your recipe. It makes me think a lot of the ghoulash my Mom & Step-dad have always made so it gave me a great start. The changes I made were to use fresh onion, wagon wheel pasta (a little tougher and stands up better to re-heating), a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (what I had) and about 3/4 can of water, and no msg too many allergies in this family! I also added carrots, corn and green beans as it's how I remember my parents version. It's wonderful! Served with garlic cheese toast on the side. Perfect rainy day fare. Thanks again for posting! : )