Slow braised beef goulash, lentil and smoked paprika soup

Yes, I know I blogged about soup yesterday, but it’s really cold and wintry at the moment in Cape Town. I have in fact made four soups this week already and will be off training two more soups later today. So I’ve got soup on the brain.

The soup I made last night is however, more than just a soup, it’s a rich meaty manly hearty spicy soup. I really went a little crazy with the spices but it was just all happening and I couldn’t stop myself. The madness started with a visit to Komati foods… always a dangerous move. I wanted to buy some smoked paprika and tom yum paste and ended up with a shopping basket full of goodies. When I buy clothes I wear each item at the first opportunity I find, and the same thing kind of happened with the soup last night. But I think the end result was pretty worthwhile.

If however you decide to try this, you could probably cut the spice list down by half and still come up with a pretty awesome soup. But I will give you the recipe as I made it yesterday.

PS – I just ate another bowl (the one in the photo) for breakfast and it’s given me all European winter nostalgia, like getting my man ready for the hunt or something medieval like that.

Slow braised beef goulash and lentil soup

Makes about 4 litres

2 Tbsp of olive oil

3 medium onions, peeled and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 kg of beef goulash pieces

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

100ml of tomato paste

1 litre of strong beef stock

1 tsp of ground black pepper

1 ½ Tbsp of smoked paprika

20g of dried chanterelle mushrooms (porcini or shitake will be good too)

2 tsp of garam masala (optional)

1 tsp of mild curry powder

1 tsp of all spice

3 Tbsp Harissa paste

2 tsp Sumac powder (optional)

250g black lentils (green or brown will be fine too)

2 tsp of salt (or to taste)

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onions and garlic frying them for a few minutes. Add the beef goulash and brown the meat for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and beef stock and bring to a simmer. Add all the remaining ingredients and leave on a very low simmer for 3 – 4 hours (or leave in a slow cooker for the whole day or over night).

If the meat is still chunky but tender mash it up a little by rubbing the chunks with the back of spoon against the side of the pot. Add water or stock if you need to thin the soup. Check the seasoning and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and crusty bread.