Romanian beef or veal stew with gogosari paste

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef or veal leg meat
• 2000 ml water for boiling the beef
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 medium onions (300 g)
• 1 kapia pepper (150 g)
• 2 medium tomatoes (300 g)
• 500 ml beef broth or water for the veal version
• 3 tablespoons gogosari paste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 250 ml beef broth or water for topping up
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 garlic cloves

Preparation

1. Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Put the whole piece in 2000 ml cold water with the bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and boil over medium heat for 60 minutes. 2. Remove the meat and reserve the broth. Cut the cooked beef or raw veal into roughly 3 cm cubes. 3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the peeled and chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the peeled and chopped kapia pepper and cook for 2 minutes, then add the peeled and chopped tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes. 4. Add the meat cubes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the gogosari paste and sugar. For beef, pour in 500 ml of the reserved broth; for veal, use 500 ml water and add the bay leaf. 5. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 60 minutes for beef or 45 minutes for veal, until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced. If the sauce thickens too much before the beef is tender, gradually add up to 250 ml of the remaining broth; for veal, use water. 6. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt for the beef version or 1 teaspoon for veal, then add the paprika, pepper and chopped garlic. Simmer for another 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.