Bavarian Goulash (Bayrischer Gulasch) with Potato Dumplings (Kartoffelknodel)

[Olga Drozd]

Bavarian Goulash with Potato Dumplings

Serve this recipe over or alongside potatoes, noodles, dumplings or even rice.  Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Potato Dumplings (recipe follows), noodles or 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boiled potatoes

1/4 cup vegetable oil or butter or margarine
2 pounds lean beef round, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 large onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon sweet ground paprika
1 bay leaf
2 cups Meat Broth (recipe follows)
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup red wine

Prepare dumplings, noodles or boiled potatoes.

Heat oil, butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add beef; saute until browned on all sides, about 15 minutes.  Add onions; saute until onions are almost tender, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, and bay leaf.  Stir broth into beef mixture.  Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer over low heat 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup beef cooking juices with flour; stir until smooth.  Stir flour mixture into goulash.  Cook, uncovered, over low heat 20 minutes.  Stir wine into goulash; cook 10 more minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.  Serve hot over potato dumplings, noodles or boiled potatoes.  Serves 6 to 8.

POTATO DUMPLINGS (Kartoffelknodel)

When cooking potato dumplings, use the first dumpling as a test.  See how the dough reacts and how long it takes to cook, then you'll be able to make adjustments to the dumpling consistency or the cooking time to achieve desired results

8 medium potatoes, cooked in skins, still warm
1 1/2 to 2 cups all purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
About 3 quarts Beef Broth (recipe follows) or beef bouillon

Peel and grate warm potatoes into a large bowl.  Stir about 1 1/2 cups of the flour; eggs, salt and white pepper into potatoes.  Using your hands, work potato mixture into a stiff dough.  Dust your hands with flour, then shape 1 heaping teaspoon dough into a 1 to 1 1/4 inch ball.  Repeat with remaining dough.  If dumplings are too soft and won't hold together, add a little more flour.

Bring broth or bouillon to a boil in a large saucepan.  Drop dumplings into boiling broth or bouillon one at a time so boiling liquid will not cool down too much.  Cook dumplings in small batches, about 3 minutes each batch, or until dumplings float and are cooked through.Serve in broth or in a soup or remove with a slotted spoon and serve with sauce or goulash.  Makes 65 to 70 dumplings, 6 to 8 servings.

VARIATIONS:  Place a deep indentation in center of uncooked dumplings with your thumb, so dumpling resembles a small thick bowl.  These indented dumplings will take a little less time to cook, because they won't have a true center.

Mix 2 Tablespoons finely chopped marjoram, 1 Tablespoon finely chopped thyme and 2 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley into dough.

MEAT BROTH (Fleischbruhe):

German families often tend to accumulate small portions of leftover meats in their refrigerators, meat broth are one way to see that those leftovers won't go to waste.  Pieces of lean sliced luncheon meats such as corned beef and ham can also be included.

8 to 9 pounds meaty bones and meat scraps from beef, pork and veal or a combination
8 quarts water
2 medium onions, char-burned (see Note)
2 parsley roots quartered, or 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4 medium carrots, quartered
4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into chunks
2 leeks, trimmed and cut into chunks
18 black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoons salt

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Place bones and meat in a large roasting pan.  roast until browned.  Place water, roasted bones and meat in a large stockpot.  Cover; bring to a boil.  skim foam from surface until surface is clear.  Reduce heat to medium.  Cook, uncovered, 1 hour.  Add onions, parsley roots, carrots, celery, leeks, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaf and salt.  Cover; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 3 hours.

Strain broth into a large bowl.  Discard meat scraps, bones and cooked vegetables.  Cool broth, uncovered.  Pour into quart or pint containers with tight-fitting lids.  Refrigerate until fat congeals.  Lift fat off with a fork; discard fat.  Cover; refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months.  Bring broth to a full boil before using.  Makes about 5 quarts.

NOTE:  To char-burn onion:  Using a gas stove, hold peeled onion with metal tongs, over the open flame until slightly chared.  Using an electric stove, place onions under the broiler, or half them and char the flat sides in an old skillet.