This is a close approximation to My Aunt Emily’s Beef Goulash. Which is a take on a recipe my grandmother used to make.
I don’t know why my mother never made it but the only time I had it was at my aunt’s. Somehow missed it at Grandma’s too.
I also never got the recipe but I’ve played with the dish and this is very, very close to Aunt Emily’s.
The plus of this dish is that it’s very cheap, good food. It’s a really easy meal to put together and there is not really a lot of work in it as most of the time it bubbles away on the stove and just needs the occasional stir.
The times that I have made it the sauce came out kinda’ thin when first made. It thickens up on the second day as the pasta soaks up more of the juice. Not a problem for me.
If you have an aversion to the thin sauce and don’t want to wait for the second day there is a remedy for it in the Tips and Tidbits section.
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My Aunt Emily's Beef Goulash is a recipe that actually came from my Grandmom!
- 2 lbs beef cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 dash cayenne
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta
- Brown the 2 pounds of beef cut in 1" pieces in 4 T. oil. Add and brown lightly the onion and garlic.
- Add the ketchup, Worcestershire, vinegar, paprika, salt, dry mustard, cayenne, and bay leaves. Add boiling water; cover and simmer 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves.
- Thicken with 2 Tbsp flour in 1/4 cup cold water.
- Cook rigatoni according to box directions, drain, and add to stew.
- This will be soupy when first made, but the pasta will absorb this by the following day.
Tips and Tidbits
If you are a bit concerned about the thinness mentioned for this beef goulash and don’t want to serve it that way there’s a workaround. Simply cooking the pasta in the stew instead of adding it after it was cooked. This works very well indeed.
The ketchup adds a degree of sweetness to the dish. (Ketchup is full of sugar) If you don’t want the sweetness substitute tomato sauce for the ketchup.
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Recipe adapted from one by SweetsLady
Photo by Annacia