This classic and popular Hungarian beef stew dish is rich in Hungarian paprika and the creaminess of sour cream coats the beef stew resulting in a comforting and absolute scrumptious dish!
This Hungarian dish is a popular one that is so rich, hearty, and comforting. Growing up, Mom when Mom made this beef stew dish, she would add sour cream only when served with homemade Hungarian dumplings, egg noodles or pasta. Her thoughts were if your going to eat this dish with rice then skip adding the sour cream.
This recipe I add mushrooms, but traditionally you wouldn’t, but I love the rich earthy flavour you get from mushrooms.
Ways to serve and enjoy this delicious beef stew dish is with Hungarian Homemade Dumplings, egg noodles, pasta, rice or mash potatoes.
Recipe Ingredients:
- extra virgin olive oil
- onion
- Hungarian sweet paprika
- salt and pepper
- beef stewing meat or sirloin or chuck cut into cubes
- mushrooms, cremini
- tomato
- Hungarian hot pepper: optional
- sour cream
- flour
- parsley
Suggestions when making this recipe:
There are a few recommendations and suggestions when making this recipe starting with the beef choice, paprika, vegetables added and ending with the sour cream.
When purchasing stewing beef, there are few things to consider. One is if you buy your stewing beef in the grocery store, like most of us do, I would ask what combination of beef is used. You want your beef to be tender after cooking it for an hour and half. The worst thing is eating chewy beef, and it recommended to buy chuck, or sirloin cuts. I have made stewing dishes with stewing meat I had no idea what it was and the end result was disappointing. So now, I ask for chuck and the difference is tender and almost melt in your mouth beef stew.
There are a few paprika choices out there and for this recipe you will need Hungarian sweet paprika to really get the true authentic Hungarian flavours of the dish. If you just paprika and it doesn’t say what it is, it’s not Hungarian. To purchase Hungarian paprika, you need to go to your local European deli.
It is optional to add mushrooms and a tomato, however, it has been quite sometime now I have added these to my paprika recipes. Mushrooms gives this dish added depth and a rich earthy flavour, and the tomato adds freshness and acidity to this recipe. But as I mentioned they are optional.
Sour cream is and has always been a traditional Hungarian dairy that is added to many of their dishes. It’s rich, creamy with a slight tang flavour. Always add room temperature sour cream to this recipe, and combine the sour cream with a thickener, and this case it’s flour or other options are arrowroot or cornstarch and then whisk in some of the sauce from the beef stew then add to the skillet over medium heat. Whisk until well combined and cook for another 2 minutes until it thickens. Did you know that sour cream is made from fermented cream? If you want to substitute with plain Greek yogurt, that will work too. Yogurt is made from fermented milk, just to let you know 🙂
How to serve this dish:
- Hungarian Dumplings (Nodekli)
- Egg noodles
- Mash potatoes
- Rice
- Pasta: recommend a wide pasta
- Gluten-free option is qunioa
Hungarian Beef Paprika Stew (Marha Pörkölt)
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 lb beef stew, cut into bite size pieces (option: sirloin steak cut into cubes)
- 5 cremini or button mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 1 tomato, cut into quarters
- 1 cup water
- 1 slice hot Hungarian pepper (optional)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp flour
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Then add onion and sauté until transparent. Add paprika and black pepper and mix with the onion.
- Add beef and brown all sides, add a few drops of water if needed. Once beef is browned, add mushrooms, tomato, water, hot pepper and salt. The longer the hot pepper cooks with the stewing beef, the spicier it will be.
- Reduce heat, cover with lid and simmer slowly until tender, approximately 11/2 hours, stirring occasionally. The longer it cooks the more tender the beef will be and the liquid will reduce. If you want more liquid, add about 1/4 cup before adding sour cream mixture.
- To avoid the sour cream from separating, set it out to room temperature. Then add the sour cream and flour into a small bowl, then add some of the sauce and blend with a wire whisk or fork until it has a smooth consistency. Turn the temperature to medium, not a hard boil, add the sour cream mixture and whisk until the sour cream is well blended. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened, adjust seasoning if needed, then remove the skillet from the heat.
- Serve with homemade dumplings, egg noodles or your favourite pasta. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Nutrition
How to make this Recipe:
Once the onions are sauteed, add the paprika and black pepper. Then add and brown the beef chucks, add the mushrooms, tomato, salt and water. Place a lid on and let is simmer slowly for minimum 1 1/2 hours. Important to note: cook the beef slowly, as it allows the meat to break down and become tender.
The liquid will reduce as it cooks. If you want more liquid, add about 1/4 cup before adding sour cream mixture. Add the sour cream and flour into a small bowl, then add some of the sauce and blend with a wire whisk or fork until it has a smooth consistency. Turn the temperature to medium, add the sour cream mixture and whisk until the sour cream is well blended. Cook for about 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened, adjust seasoning if needed, then remove the skillet from the heat.
The sauce should be thick, creamy and the meat should be tender and now it’s ready to serve. Our favourite has and will always be Hungarian dumplings or Nodekli. Why you ask is because it absorbs the sauce perfectly.
You will enjoy every bite! I promise, so sit back and enjoy this authentic Hungarian dish with a nice glass of red wine! 🙂
