Southern Goulash – No, not the Hungarian Kind…
This southern soul food classic is as confusing as it is delicious. When folks outside of the southern US hear “goulash” they (typically) are immediately taken into the central and eastern throws of Europe – Hungarian, Ukrainian, and/or Romanian just to name a few. That isn’t what we’re dealing with here.
Even more confusing is some of the old timers will refer to this as “Chop Suey.” Don’t ask me why, I’m merely reporting.
While amazing on a cold Appalachian winter’s evening, this one dish wonder is great all year round and can feed an army.
Solid comfort on any day - especially a cold one.
Here’s what you need:
1 onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 Bell Pepper, color of choice, diced
1 lb ground beef (turkey or chicken)
2 cups elbow macaroni
1 tbs Italian seasoning
1 tbs paprika
1tbs garlic powder
1 tbs creole seasoning
1 tbs Soy sauce
3 – 4 tbs tomato paste
15 oz can of diced tomatoes (I like the fire roasted here)
15 oz can of tomato sauce
Salt and Pepper
2 cups of stock (beef or chicken – or 1 ½ cups water and 1 heaping tbs of Better than Bouillon - chicken or beef
Here’s what you do:
Brown your meat in a large Dutch oven. Drain any excess grease as needed. Add onion and sautee until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute careful not to burn. Season with Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Add tomato paste to the meat and onions and stir to coat. Cook about 1 minute (or so) to cook off the “raw” taste of the tomato paste. Careful not to burn.
Add in diced tomatoes, sauce, stock and macaroni. Cover, bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook until macaroni is tender. Serve with grated cheddar and/or parmesan cheese (optional) and garlic bread.
NOTES:
I like to let my sauce cook on a very low simmer for about 30 minutes before adding the macaroni. I think it helps everything mix and mingle a bit. Then, once you add the macaroni, another 30 minutes or so, stirring minimally, helps bring the whole thing together. Again, it isn’t necessary, and you can certainly have this done start to finish in about an hour-ish.
Also, once cooked, it is okay to sit on the stove, covered, until needed. This is a very forgiving dish, and is perfect for those casual guests who may be running late.
Totally better the next day y’all.
Grab Ingredients Here:
Fire Roasted Tomatoes: https://amzn.to/3ZoBmg9
Tomato Sauce: https://amzn.to/4gpTT2M
Tomato Paste: https://amzn.to/4g3goun
Macaroni: https://amzn.to/4gpXsWt
Italian Seasoning: https://amzn.to/3OM0tod
Paprika: https://amzn.to/3ZqhhGq
Garlic Powder: https://amzn.to/3Vq7dMr
Creole Seasoning: https://amzn.to/4f7IeV2
Better than Bouillon: https://amzn.to/41sCNNh
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