Beef & Chickpea Paprikash

I finally found some Hungarian paprika at the store, and have been sampling various paprikash recipes. Eventually, I came up with my own. This is similar to a Polish paprikash that my dad used to make. I would not call this an authentic Polish or Hungarian recipe though.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 50 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  lbs stewing beef, cut into chunks
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4  tablespoons butter
• 1  onion, diced
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1⁄2 cups  vegetable stock or 1 1⁄2 cups water
• 4  teaspoons paprika (Hungarian)
• 1  tablespoon brown sugar
• 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1  tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2  tablespoons ketchup
• 2  tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1⁄4 cup  Greek yogurt or 1⁄4 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Toss the beef in the flour, sea salt and pepper until well-coated.
2. Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a heavy pan or dutch oven. Add the onion and garlic, then add the beef while shaking off excess flour coating. (Set aside any leftover flour because you might need it later) Fry, stirring occasionally, until the beef has turned brown, about 5-8 minutes.
3. Add the stock/water, paprika, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce the pot. Stir and bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
4. After two hours, add the drained chickpeas and cook for a further 30 minutes.
5. Remove from heat. Add the yogurt/sour cream, but be sure to temper it with a bit of the warm sauce first to make sure it does not curdle. (If your stew looks watery, you can stir the leftover flour you set aside earlier into the yogurt before adding it to the pot to thicken the sauce nicely. If not, just discard the flour and add the yogurt by itself.) Stir until the paprikash turns a dark orange color.
6. Serve over egg noodles, pasta, rice, mashed potatoes or, my favorite- fresh gnocchi.