I grew up eating Hungarian foods (my mother's mother, immigrated with her family from Hungary via Spain, sometime in the 1930's - I was born in 1956; my great grandmother's name was Magdalena; she didn't speak English her whole life); ethic kitchen scents wafted through the house on weekends when my working mother had the time to relax and enjoy home comforts. My all-time favorite meal was slow simmered stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce: meat goulash over cooked egg noodles was second.
Goulash is originally from Hungary, where it originated with Hungarian herdsmen (gulyás) in the 9th century. They made a simple, portable stew of meat and onions while tending cattle on the plains, which eventually evolved into the varied dish known today (goulash today is often served over cooked egg noodles, or rice; some goulash dishes resemble a heavy gravied stew with vegetables), gaining international recognition when paprika, was utilized & imported from the Hungarian city of Szeged. Paprika has officially become the meal's signature ingredient.
With the international relish for the dish, Goulash became a national Hungarian symbol, emphasized by the nobility who promoted Hungarian customs; as well as a staple of Hungarian food fare, where regional preparation techniques, customs and ingredients combine to create unique goulash-based dishes.
My goulash recipe today, has the additional ingredient, Purslane: desired for its high nutritional content, including omega-3 fatty acids (including both ALA and trace amounts of EPA - both crucial for brain health and reducing inflammation; a combo unusual in a plant. ALA is thought to have benefits for heart health, such as potentially decreasing the risk of heart disease, reducing blood clots, and maintaining a normal heart rhythm), antioxidants (improves immune function, protects against cell damage, enhances skin health), and vitamin A (helps maintain eye health, supports the immune system by promoting the production of white blood cells and maintaining the integrity of mucous membranes, aids in skin health & production of collagen) and vitamin C (produces collagen - a protein that supports skin, bones, and blood vessels, and helps with wound healing, protects cells from damage, also involved in the synthesis of hormones to function properly), carnitine (energy production = the main "energy currency" for a cell, fueling processes like muscle contraction, nerve signal transmission, and the synthesis of essential chemicals for physical well-being), and in helping the body absorb iron (essential for the production of hemoglobin, which facilitates the transport of oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues, helps convert oxygen into energy, is involved in the production of white blood cells, which are essential for fighting infections, is important for brain health).
Purslane is a powerhouse [weed] 👍
Purslane grows in Hungary - wild, like every other place, except perhaps Antarctica where it's too cold for anything to grow under the perpetual snow and ice layers. The Hungarian name for purslane is kövér porcsin … and maybe, someone in some region of Hungary experimented with purslane in their goulash recipe 🤔🤞, as I am doing, today 😉
1-lb Beef Skirt Steak, cubed * 2 lrg. Yellow Onions, sliced * 1-1/4 c. Water * 1/3 bunch of Purslane, chopped stems and leaves * 1/2 c. Ketchup * 2 TBSP. Worcestershire Sauce * 1 TBSP. Brown Sugar * 2 tsp. Himalayan Pink Salt * 2 tsp. Hungarian Paprika * 1/2 tsp. dry Mustard powder * 1/4 c. Water * 1/4 c. all-purpose Flour * Egg Noodles, cooked * 1 Crockpot * 2-qt. Cooking Pot * 1 lrg. Liquid Measuring Cup * Dry ingredients Measuring spoons & cups * 1 lrg. Cooking Spoon
1) Cut meat & place in crockpot.
2) Slice onions & purslane; put in crockpot with meat.
3) Blend sugar & spices together.
4) In a lrg. liquid measuring cup, blend liquids together - add spice mixture, stir and pour over meat & onions in crockpot.
5) Cover with lid, and cook on HIGH for 6 hours.
Around 5-1/2 hours crockpot cooking, get the noodles cooking & draining.
6) In a liquid measuring cup, mix together 1/4 c. water with the flour to form a paste; stir into the goulash mixture & blend thoroughly. Stir and continue cooking until the sauce thickens - about 10 minutes (or 15 if you prefer thicker).
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