Oma's Goulash

Jason likes to cook, and I have a request for goulash.  I do not think I even have a copy of Oma's recipe written down.  I think I just have a memory, or hundreds, of Oma in the kitchen, her homemade apron around her chest, making it.

apron back

apron front

Oma invented an apron, from a pillow case.  She had steel springs made, about two inches wide and long enough to wrap around your waist or chest.  You then pushed the casing of a half pillow case over it, snapped it on, and no ties or problems, your apron was where you wanted it.  One size fits all, no slip.



Back to the goulash.  She ordered the right meat from her butcher, fresh and cut to the right size, no gristle, little fat.  Stew meat. Not like now, where it is the throw away parts.

She browned the onions in the bacon lard she kept on the kitchen stove.  That way the kitchen started smelling  flavorful first thing in the morning.  She browned the meat, slowly on all sides in the bacon fat and onions, before she did anything else.  The pot was a special thick sided one, tall and wide, for lots of surface area, so all the pieces could touch the bottom, with a fitted lid.  This took awhile.

this is the RIGHT Italian tomato paste my Grandmother used

She had several cans of tomato paste, small with an Italian lady holding a flat basket of tomatoes on it.  Obviously the Italian knew her tomatoes better than the California people, and she spread the paste over the meat, once thoroughly browned.  A bit of water kept the meat from burning, but it was touch and go, since the tomato paste had little water in it.  Too much water made a soup, and that was not good!  With the lid on tight, the meat was left to cook over a very low flame.  Oma only cooked with gas.  Every hour or so she checked, stirred, and added a bit of water if it got too low.

The additional foods we had with this goulash was  Uncle Ben's Rice (only kind we ever ate), or baked potatoes, green beans and cabbage.  We did not eat mac and cheese  or scalloped potatoes.  Not with  Oma in the kitchen.

Now my Mother had her own variation of this dish, and would always improvise, create variations, divertissements, and fugues to make it more interesting.  But Oma, simple and true, made the standard dish, and we loved it as is.