September Goulash

The second part of my cookery project for the first Saturday in September was inspired partly by a recipe I'd seen in a Vegetarian Cookbook, part by my love of Pui Lentils and part by a trip to Eastern Europe many years ago where I ate plenty of Goulash.

I had never made a Goulash before so here I was in unknown territory. To mark this moment the meal was prepared to the innovative and groundbreaking 1978 Frank Zappa Live Album "Zappa in New York".

The ingredients were as follows:

For the Goulash:

Two sliced Carrots.
Three finely sliced Shallots.
Three finely sliced sticks of Celery.
Two diced Garlic Cloves.
A tablespoon of Tomato Puree.
One can of chopped Tomatoes.
Ten ounces of Pui Lentils.
One teaspoon of Caraway Seeds.
One teaspoon of Smoked Paprika.
A tablespoon of Port.
A half pint of Vegetable Stock.

For the dumplings:

A sachet of vegetarian dumpling suet.
A tablespoon of finely sliced chives from my garden.
Five tablespoons of Water.
One tablespoon of Soya Milk.

I first made the dumplings by putting the suet and the Chives in a mixing bowl and gradually adding the Water and Soya Milk. The reason I did this was that I find if you add the wet ingredients gradually the dough mixes together better and makes better quality dumplings. After the dough was mixed together I divided it into six balls and left them in the fridge to firm up.

After this I sweated the Carrots, the Shallots, the Celery, the Garlic Cloves, Tomato Puree, the Caraway Seeds, Smoked Paprika  and the Port in the Le Cresceut in Olive Oil for 35 minutes on a medium heat. I stirred the dish occasionally to make sure that the ingredients did not stick to the bottom of it burn. I also kept the lid on during cooking to make sure the food cooked quickly.

 About 25 minutes into this process I added the Dumplings.

In the meantime as soon as I started cooking the food in the Le Cresceut I boiled up the Pui Lentils in a saucepan of water for 35 minutes on a medium heat.  Once the Lentils were ready I added them
 to the Le Cresceut with the Vegetable Stock and Tomatoes. I stirred them in carefully. I then boiled it all for a further 35 minutes on a medium heat.

The Smoked Paprika, a spice that had been recommend to me by an individual who had contributed
little else that was positive to my life, and the Caraway Seeds added a charcoal type taste that reminded me of Liquorice. The Celery of course served to enforce this taste. However this taste wasn't too overpowering as the Tomato Puree, tinned Tomatoes and the Chive Dumplings ensured enough contrast to make this a flavoursome and filling meal.

It was certainly a meal my parents enjoyed as we talked shop about significant individuals and possible futures.

Melting Pot- the Dumplings and other ingredients bubbling away prior to serving the dish.