Beef Goulash

It's great when I feel relaxed, that's when I get inspired to start cooking and love to refresh old recipes and try new ideas too.  The days are beginning to shorten, it's cooler in the morning and I start to get the preserving bug. I can't resist the roadside stalls with gluts of fresh vegetables and fruit which cry out to be pickled, made into chutneys or jams. I need elastic cupboards though, there is never enough room to store the pots and jars. Even my husband is raiding the reduced shelves at the supermarket bringing back ingredients that he knows I'll be using.

I've also decided that I'm going to make the Christmas Cakes over the next couple of weeks, they can then be matured and drizzled with brandy, I'm determined to have them ready before the start of term this year. Yesterday was a cold and damp day, so I decided that something warming was needed and I haven't made a Goulash for ages. I hope you enjoy the recipe.  

Ingredients
Goulash: olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1lb Braising steak, in 1 inch cubes
seasoned flour
1 red pepper, sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp paprika
1/2 pint beef stock
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf

Dumplings:
4oz SR flour
2oz suet
Salt and pepper
1 tsp Chopped fresh thyme
1 tblsp chopped parsley
cold water

Method
Preheat oven Gas 4. Fry off the onion in some olive oil until the onions are soft. Pop these in a casserole dish. Add more oil if necessary. Toss the beef in seasoned flour and fry in small batches until browned on all sides, transfer to the casserole dish. Add the peppers to the pan, fry for 1 minute, add the garlic and caraway seeds, fry for a few seconds and then add the paprika. Pour in the stock and bubble to release the juices on the bottom of the pan, add the tomatoes, heat through and pour into the casserole. Add the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Stir together and cover with a lid. Cook in the oven for 2 hours until tender.

30 minutes before serving, in a medium bowl, mix the flour, suet, chopped herbs, salt and pepper with enough cold water to make a stiff dough. With wet hands, break off walnut sized pieces of the dough and roll into balls. Remove casserole from oven, stir and then pop the dumplings around the stew, leaving space between each, cover with the lid and pop back into the over for approximately 30 minutes for the dumplings to steam.

Serve with some fresh steamed beans, broccoli or peas and a dollop of sour cream.