Week 12: Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash with Smoked Sausage and Savory Caramelized Onions

I DO LOVE A ONE-PAN WONDER... I think.

Okay, seriously... who doesn’t?!  This week’s recipe was Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash, and can be found here.  I was drawn to this recipe because of its simple ingredients.  I’m also drawn to any dish where potatoes take center stage and are accompanied by sausage and onions, not to mention a saucy sauce coating all of them.  

I really don’t have too much to say about this one.  It was yummy, and my husband LOVED it.  I prefer my potatoes to be on the crispier side of soft and falling apart, but all in all I thought it was... okay.  I did like it better on day two, once all the ingredients had time to get to know one another.  And to be honest, my husband and I can’t really figure out why I didn’t fall head over heels for it.  In the end, I guess we simply didn’t click.  However, I’m sure that it will be making more appearances in my house, but only at the request of my husband.

Mom

"A nickel's worth of goulash beats a five dollar can of vitamins."

-Martin H. Fischer

                                                        

I thought quite a bit about my grandmother, Anna, my daughter's namesake, when I made this dish.  My grandmother was born in Austria-Hungary and I wondered if she had ever made goulash.  If she had, how would it have compared to this recipe.  She married an Italian man and, while I remember spaghetti and meatballs, I don't remember any other ethnic main dishes.  I do remember wonderful strudel and a fried pastry, chrusciki, she made for Easter, just about this time of year. I think she would have liked this recipe.

One-skillet meals are wonderful.  I love them.  Everything you need in one pot, or skillet, flavors blending beautifully as the ingredients simmer away.  This recipe is no exception.  The directions are simple and straight forward.  The result is savory and spicy, with a wonderful sauce, thickened by the red potatoes. The caramelized onions are delicious!  Grocery stores are well stocked with many types of smoked sausages.  I used an all beef smoked sausage this time, but would like to experiment with some chicken or turkey sausages the next time I make this recipe.  The leftovers were also tasty!

Would I make this again?  Yes, Ma'am!  It passed the "Honey, Would you eat this again?", with five "yums" up.  My husband liked it so much, he belonged to the "clean plate club", using bread to soak up all the sauce.  

Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash with Smoked Sausage and Savory Caramelized Onions

(Serves about 4)

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) smoked sausage, sliced on the bias into thin medallions

Olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, pressed through garlic press

¾ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 ½ teaspoons paprika

10 medium-size red skin potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½” thick circles (about 2 ¾ lbs)

1 ½ cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

• Salt

Preparation:

1. Place a large, deep, non-stick pan (or even medium non-stick pot) over medium-high heat, and add in about 1 tablespoon of oil; once the oil is hot, add in the smoked sausage medallions, and caramelize them for a few minutes until they become a deep brown color; remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

2. To the same pan or pot, add in the butter, and allow it to melt; add in the sliced onions, and caramelize those in the butter and sausage drippings until a rich, golden-brown, about 5-7 minutes; next, add in the garlic, plus a couple of pinches of salt, the freshly cracked black pepper and the paprika, and stir to combine with the onions; saute just until the garlic becomes aromatic.

3. Next, add in the sliced potatoes, and fold them into the caramelized onions/garlic to coat them well; add in the chicken stock and stir to combine, then push the sliced potatoes down into the stock/onion mixture as much as possible to allow them to cook evenly; cover the pan/pot with a lid that is askew to allow some steam to escape, and simmer on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring gently once or twice during this time; then, uncover the pan/pot and allow the potatoes to continue to simmer for another 10 minutes, or until they are tender and the sauce a bit thickened, stirring once or twice during that time. (It’s perfectly fine for some of the potatoes to break up in the sauce as it helps to thicken it, just take care not to break them too much.)

4. Finish the Goulash by adding the caramelized smoked sausage back into the pan/pot, as well as the parsley, and gently fold those in to incorporate; add a little drizzle of olive oil in, and add a couple more pinches of salt and pepper, if necessary; serve hot with bread, if desired.