Beef goulash with dumplings

by Ed Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg beef chuck, diced in 2cm pieces
  • salt flakes and freshly-milled black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 white onions, sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 3 Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 1L beef stock
  • 2 sticks celery, sliced
  • 3 eggs
  • 1½ cups plain flour
  • 1 bunch chives, finely sliced
  • sour cream, to serve

Instructions

1 Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, then fry in vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over a moderate heat for 8 minutes, until well-browned. Add the onions, bay leaves and garlic, then continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
2 Mix in the paprika and stock and bring to a boil. Top up with water, if needed, then simmer for 1 hour over a low heat. Add the celery and simmer for another hour, until the beef is tender.
3 Beat the eggs, flour and chives, until smooth, then season with salt. Place teaspoons of the batter into the simmering goulash and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with sour cream.