This recipe comes from Bob Jerin, an organizer of tours to Croatia. A number of Burgenländers still identify as Croatian, and this recipe uses vegetables in place of peppers compared to its better-known northern neighbor from Hungary.



CROATIAN GOULASH
(from Bob Jerin)

Ingredients:
  • 2 spoons of oil
  • 12 small onions, sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 pound of beef
  • 1/2 pound of pork
  • 6 ounce can of tomato paste
  • Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp. of paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 6 medium-sized potatoes, cut into cubes
  • 1 cup of chopped celery
  • 1 cup of grated carrots
  • 3 Tbsp. of flour
  • 3 Tbsp. of water
Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large pot and add finely chopped onions. After a few minutes, add garlic. Cut the meat into cubes and when the onions turn golden, add the meat to the pot. Turn up the heat a bit and mix until the meat is browned on all sides. Spoon tomato paste on top of the meat mixture, add enough water to cover the meat and blend all ingredients together. Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika and blend again. Finally, place a bay leaf on top.

Cover the pot and let it simmer. Stir occasionally. After 50 minutes, check to see if the meat is tender. After the meat is tender add potatoes, chopped celery and grated carrots. Again turn down the stove and cover the pot. When the potatoes are soft, add a mixture of 3 tablespoons of flour and warm water.

Mix while adding to the stew. While doing that you can take the pot off the heat entirely so that the flour doesn’t get lumpy. Once you’ve done that, put it back on the stove on a low temperature, mix well, cover, and cook for a few more minutes.