Hungarian beef goulash

Ingredients

• 2000 ml water
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 kg beef chuck
• 45 ml oil
• 4 medium red onions (600 g)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 green pepper (150 g)
• 2 red kapia peppers (300 g)
• 2 carrots (200 g)
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon caraway
• 400 ml tomato juice
• 500 ml water
• 400 g peeled tomatoes
• 4 large potatoes (800 g)
• 500 ml water for topping up the potatoes
• 15 g parsley

Preparation

1. Put 2000 ml of water and 2 bay leaves in a pot. When the water comes to a boil, add the beef chuck cut into pieces of about 3 cm and simmer for 40 minutes, until it starts to turn tender. Take the meat out and place it on paper towels. Keep the cooking liquid. 2. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Dice the green pepper and the red kapia peppers, and slice the carrots into rounds. 3. Heat 45 ml of oil in a clean pot. Add the meat and brown it for 3 minutes, then add all the vegetables and cook for 6 minutes, stirring until they soften slightly. 4. Add 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, 1 teaspoon of caraway and the remaining 2 bay leaves. Pour in 400 ml of tomato juice and 500 ml of water, then add the peeled tomatoes. Simmer over medium heat for 50 minutes, until the sauce reduces and the vegetables are tender. 5. Meanwhile, wash the potatoes and boil them whole, with their skins on, in the cooking liquid kept from the meat, for about 30 minutes, until a fork slides easily into them. If the liquid does not cover them, add up to 500 ml of water. Take them out of the pot and leave them to cool for 15 minutes. 6. 5 minutes before taking the goulash off the heat, peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes. Add them to the pot with 15 g of chopped parsley and stir gently.