Historic Serial Killer Captured

It was on December 26th, 1620 that one, if not the top, serial killer was captured. The lady behind the murder and torture of hundreds of girls between 1585 and 1610 was none other than Elizabeth Bathory. She was countess from the renowned Bathory family. The Bathory family was the noble family of Hungary. Elizabeth is counted by many as the most prolific female serial killer in history. There were 4 collaborators that helped her pull off the deadly feat. While that deadly date will ring forever in the history books on December 26th let me remind you that the food from Hungary can not be ignored.

Hungarian food is hearty food with fantastic taste. The breads, sausages, meats, stews, sauces, desserts and more are all in my opinion delicious. The national dish of Hungary is goulash. Hungarians refer to it as "gulyas" which means "herdsman". The recipe was a Turkish one originally and brought to Hungary by invading Turks. Hungarians have made it their own and created a recipe that is between a soup and stew. Goulash is not full overly packed of beef and veggies, the broth seems to form a sauce. In the United States goulash is made with ground beef and macaroni. Hungarian Goulash is not.

3 tablespoons lard or butter
1½ pounds yellow onions, chopped
¼ cup good quality sweet Hungarian paprika
1½ pounds beef (see note), cut into ½ inch pieces
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 red bell peppers, seeded/membranes removed, cut into ½ inch chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded/membranes removed, cut into ½ inch chunks
2 tomatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 medium potatoes, cut into ½ inch chunks
5 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat and cook the onions until beginning to brown, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the paprika. Add the beef and garlic, return to the heat, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the beef is no longer pink.
Add the bell peppers and cook for another 7-8 minutes. Add the carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, beef broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 30 minutes (see note). Add salt to taste.


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