Recipe: LCHF Hungarian Goulash and Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

On Saturday, I caught a Good Eats episode called "Stew Romance" and spent about 30 minutes salivating over the Hungarian Goulash recipe that Alton Brown made.  I decided that I would low-carbify it, and see how it came out.

The results?  So good that I didn't even have time to take a picture of the finished plate before my family dug in and destroyed the entire batch.  (Sorry for the lack of picture!)

Try this recipe and you won't be sorry!  It is meaty and unctuous, smoky and just a little tangy.  Served with garlicky mashed cauliflower, this is a Fall/Winter meal that just cannot be beat! 

Here's how you do it:

Hungarian Goulash

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons paprika
• 5 pounds English-cut short ribs
• Kosher salt (to taste) and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup water

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2.   In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and paprika. Set aside.

3.   Season the short ribs with kosher salt.

4.   Place a large griddle over medium-high heat; preheat griddle for about 3-5 minutes. 

5.   Sear the meat until browned on all sides.

6.   Once browned, remove the meat to the bowl with the paste and toss to coat.

7.   Transfer to a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and seal tightly to make a packet.

8.   Place the packet into a pan and bake for 4 hours.

9.   20 minutes before the meat is ready, melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add water.  Cover pot.

10. When 4 hours is up, remove the meat from the oven and carefully poke a hole in the pack while holding it over a heatproof container, reserve meat juices.

11. Add meat juices to the onion cooking in the pan.

12. Meanwhile, remove the meat from the bones and pull or chop into 1-2" pieces.

13. Add the meat to the onion mixture and cook for about 5 minutes. 

Serve with mashed cauliflower.

Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
• 2 garlic cloves
• Kosher salt to taste
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup heavy cream

 (Start this about 30 minutes before the meat is ready.)

Directions

1.   Melt butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat. 

2.   Add cauliflower and garlic, sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt (or to taste) and sauté for 5 minutes.

3.   Add water, and cover pan.  When steam starts to come out from under the lid, turn the heat down to medium low and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is softened.  (Check to make sure it does not burn, and add a little more water if necessary).

4.   Remove lid, and cook until all remaining water is evaporated.

5.   Add cream.

6.   Blend (I use an immersion blender) until creamy.  Check seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve a big scoop in a bowl, topped with goulash.  Super yummy!