hungarian mushroom goulash recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: vegetable
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
  • 1 pound Hungarian wax peppers or Italian frying peppers—cored, seeded and chopped
  • 1½ pounds wild mushrooms, cut into 1-inch pieces*
  • 1½ pounds cremini or white button mushrooms, quartered
  • salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • ¼ cup sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 1 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika (I left this out, given the kids where going to eat this dish)
  • One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (the fire-roasted variety are nice here)
  • 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 pound zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
  • Sour cream and chopped fresh parsley, for serving (or skip the sour cream if going vegan)
Instructions
  1. In a large enameled cast-iron pot (I used my lovely 6-quart Le Creuset), heat the oil. Add the onions and peppers and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add all of the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned, about 10 minutes.
  2. Using the side of a large knife, mash the garlic to a paste with the caraway seeds and a generous pinch of salt (or just use a garlic press), then scrape into the pot. Stir in both paprikas (if using the spicy), the tomatoes, potatoes and zucchini. Add the broth and bay leaves, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat to allow all the flavors to meld, about 1 hour.
  3. Stir the bread crumbs into the stew and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes; serve with sour cream and parsley.
  4. I felt this dish improved in time, making wonderful leftovers the next day.
Notes
* This amount of wild mushrooms is what the original recipe calls for, but I did not use. At the time of my goulash foray, I did not like the looks of the wild mushrooms at the local market and so decided to stick with the more domestic and boring varieties for the dish. I doubled the amount of cremini and white button mushrooms for a total of 3 pounds of 'shrooms for the recipe. I expect, though, the wild mushrooms would make the dish more complex and hearty. I suggest to go all out for the wild mushrooms if you have access to them.
Recipe by story of a kitchen at https://www.storyofakitchen.com/vegetable-recipes/hungarian-mushroom-goulash-recipe/