This traditional beef stew is flavoured with Hungarian sweet and hot paprika, which gives this dish a light spiciness and the tender beef slowly braised creates a rich creamy sauce. The butternut squash is a perfect substitution for potatoes or pasta.
This dish has been given a culinary elegance by adding tender stew beef with ample rich sauce and the squash is a healthy approach with hints of sweetness and it absorbs the sauce nicely and garnished with fresh dill to give this comfort meal a high class rating.
Mom would often made this stew using beef or veal, and as a family we loved it!! It’s probably because of the rich and flavourful paprika spice! There are variations for this recipe, often times we would add the traditional sour cream for a creamy texture, but in this case, I keep it dairy free, and a healthier option by adding the butternut squash.
Recipe Ingredients:
- vegetable oil
- onion
- Hungarian sweet and hot paprika
- black pepper
- stewing beef
- colour pepper
- tomato
- salt
- starch: either arrowroot or cornstarch
- butternut squash
- butter
- onion
- sweet paprika
- vinegar
- dill
Helpful Tips:
Paprika: important to choose Hungarian paprika for this recipe. Hungarian paprika is sweeter and has more flavour then the regular paprika.
Beef: when purchasing stewing beef, it tends to have a variety of cuts of beef, mainly chuck or short rib. You may need to cut some of the pieces smaller as you go through it. I have in the past purchased rib steak for grilling and it is a thicker cut, and more tender cut of meat, and it requires less time for cooking. The rule is the tougher the meat, the longer and slower cooking is required.
Tomato: add sweetness and tangy flavour
Sweet pepper: offers a sweet flavour and texture
Starch: only add if the sauce from the beef isn’t a creamy texture, and it hasn’t thickened. If not, you will need to add a little bit of starch to thicken. In my experience, when cooking beef stew, it will create a lovely creamy sauce on its own.
Squash: I recommend butternut squash for this recipe, it’s holds well and it has the right amount of sweetness.
Dill: the freshness and citrus flavour of dill really compliments this dill.
Hungarian Stew with Squash (Pörkölt tök es Fallabda)
Equipment
- large skillet and medium skillet
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (safflower/sunflower)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp Hungarian hot paprika (small slice fresh hot chili pepper) optional
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 lb (500 g.) stewing beef, cubed
- 1 sweet yellow/red pepper, chopped
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp arrowroot/cornstarch (optional)
- 1 tsp water
Squash:
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into strips
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (additional for garnishing)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a medium size skillet, over medium heat, add onion and sauté until onions are transparent. Add paprika and black pepper and mix with the onions.
- Cut the stewing beef into bite size pieces if needed, place in a bowl and give it a quick rinse.
- Add beef to the skillet and brown all sides, add a few drops of water if needed. Once beef is browned, add yellow or red pepper, tomato, water and salt. Cover and simmer slowly until the beef is tender, and the sauce has thickened. Approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- The sauce should thicken as it cooks, but if it doesn’t, then mix together 1 tbsp of arrowroot or cornstarch and a little bit of water. Bring the stewing meat to a boil, and add starch, allow to boil until thickened.
Squash:
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt butter, and add squash. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, then add the water. The water will help the squash to cook more quickly, and once it starts to soften, start breaking the pieces apart.
- Once cooked, remove and add onion to the skillet, and saute until soften. Stir in paprika, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper. Then transfer the squash back into the skillet, and combine well with the ingredients and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Serve in a wide bowl or a plate with depth, then add the beef stew. Allow the sauce from the stew to coat the squash. Garnishing with fresh dill. Serve it on it's own.
Nutrition
How to make this recipe:
Cooking stew meat: Once the onion is cooked, remove from the stove and mix in the sweet paprika, hot paprika if using, and black pepper. Then return to stove and add the beef. Sauté until the beef pieces are browned on all sides. Add the diced tomatoes, water and salt. Cover partially and simmer slowly until beef is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 1-2 hours.
Cooking squash: heat a skillet or fry pan and melt butter, then add squash. It is much faster to cook the squash by doing it this way. Once both sides have been pan fried, add the water and cook until the squash has softened. Remove the squash once done and then add the onion, paprika, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper. Cook another 1-2 minutes, and return the squash to the pan. You want a soft smooth texture, with some liquid but not runny.
Serve up the squash in a wide bowl, or a plate with some depth. Add the stew and allow the sauce to coat the squash. Garnish with fresh dill and enjoy!! 🙂
There is more than one way to serve this dish, and it is a personal preference. The squash took on the flavours of the stew sauce and it was absolutely divine!!
