International Week -- Transylvanian Goulash

Every time the subject of goulash comes up in conversation -- and it actually does come up in my conversations, sometimes! -- people tell me about a dish they make with ground beef that almost sounds like a soupy sort of sloppy joe mixture. I'm sure it's fabulous, and I've made similar meals myself. But it's not actually goulash, especially if the macaroni that many folks mention in the same breath is added to it ... really, I mean it.

According to the online Budapest Tourist Guide, goulash "was (and still is) a very popular dish among herdsmen in Hungary. They made it in a cast-iron kettle hung above open fire, out in the fields. Herdsman is gulyás in Hungarian, so that’s where the dish’s name comes from." The basic ingredients are a tomato base, meat, onion, sometimes green pepper and always paprika.

The basis of my own recipe comes from an article in The New York Times Magazine section from February 5, 2006. It featured Transylvanian Goulash, though unfortunately no reason for it being Transylvanian vs. Hungarian is given; both territories were once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, so the basic dish would have been tinkered with throughout the region.

The article told of Joseph Wechsberg, the supreme authority on Austro-Hungarian food who once wrote for The New Yorker and for Gourmet, whose book entitled The Cooking of Vienna's Empire was published by Time-Life in 1968. A friend and collaborator said of Wechsberg: "His writing about food ... was so unbelievably precise, you couldn't argue with it."

And so, when I found the recipe for Transylvanian Goulash that had come from Wechsberg, I knew I had found the real thing. I tweaked it slightly, eliminating a mixture of cream and flour which would only serve to thicken it a bit at the end, but that's not a particularly radical deviation; it's not as though I took out the sauerkraut.

Yup -- sauerkraut. The goulash starts with pork cubes, adds sauerkraut and caraway seeds, and includes a bit of tomato sauce for the base. Long, slow cooking in the crockpot turns these few basic ingredients into an amazing melange of flavors, and a bit of sour cream offered for serving -- to be stirred in, if desired -- makes it richer. I have a note scribbled on my modified version of the original that simply says "EXCELLENT!!!"

Please don't think that sauerkraut is only for hot dogs ... trust me here. Even my beloved friend Wendy, who loathes anything vinegary, really enjoyed this and said that it's very well balanced and smooth. Jeremy ate two huge helpings, and was sorry there wasn't more!

Make a batch of goulash, and you'll come home at the end of the day to a house that smells amazing with the tantalizing promise of dinner, and you'll nourish both your body and your soul when you indulge in this delicious meal ....


Transylvanian Goulash

2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-1/2 pounds pork chops, cut into 1" cubes
1 pound sauerkraut not from a can, drained and rinsed well
3 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2/3 cup tomato sauce

splash of hot sauce, if desired
sour cream, for serving

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat; add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent.

Layer the onion/garlic mixture, the pork cubes, and the sauerkraut into a crockpot, alternating layers. Combine the broth, salt, paprika, caraway seeds, and tomato sauce; pour over the pork. Cover and cook on "high" for 4 hours or "low" for most of the day. Serve the goulash with a splash of hot sauce and/or some sour cream, if desired.

Serves 4-6.