Paprika … which is it to be

… Hungarian or Spanish?

In the overall scheme of things it probably doesn't matter that much.

I always thought in this day and age of “foodies” that most supermarkets, certainly the larger ones, sold every herb and spice known to man! Lets face it, you can buy ras el hanout and za'atar to name but two exotic spice mixes - even in my neck of the woods. Why then can you not buy Hungarian paprika – grrr.

Hence my mission – a simple enough task you'd think – think again – suffice it to say that all I could find was Spanish or “product of more than one country”. I used Spanish paprika and should say I'm not in any way against it - it's a great product. It's just that Hungarian goulash should have Hungarian paprika.

I'm sure you know what's coming next – use your favourite on-line grocery – which is where I should have gone in the first place.

Rant over, here's the goulash, complete with dumpling!

Here's the Hungarian paprika – two choices - sweet smoked and sweet :

Just before I go - a post script – about the goulash - next time round I'm adding diced chorizo, fried until crisp - oil and all, to the recipe. It can be cooked ahead and then folded in before cooking the dumplings. I'll add 250g of diced chorizo to the recipe.

Another post script – about the beef - in a perfect world shin beef is the best cut to use when slow cooking your goulash. The “shin” works hard and so has lots of connective tissue - slow cooking it gives you a moist and tender result – perfect for this dish.

Soup recipe coming next!