Last week’s soup, which hasn’t actually been written up yet on account of my being very, very busy, was a variant on Hungarian Goulash, made with cabbage and ground beef. Comments ranged from “fabulous” to “edible,” depending on where a spicy goulash fell in my test crew’s comfort zones. I liked it pretty well, but ground beef will never replace chuck for goulash.

To follow up I promised a soup that should fall in the center of everyone’s comfort zone; Chicken and Rice, made from one of those roasted chickens you find by the checkout at the supermarket.

Since I’ve been traveling during the week and spending all weekend in class for the last two weeks, that fit my schedule perfectly. Sunday night I could have a low stress dinner with my gal, and leftover bones  and bits could go into making stock, while the extra meat got split up between lunches and soup. Continue reading →

I’d been thinking about lower carb content soups recently, and itnoccurednto me that ground beef, chopped tomatoes, and an onion were a good basenfornsomething. I’m always happy to make chili, and some oregano and basil would give me an Italian soup, but there was something else n e back of my mind quietlybasking fornattention.

Hugarian paprika. Let go goulash!

Sure, goulash oftwn means potatoes, that’s carb death, but even without you could do a pretty good job. Oh,mandit had to be quick, because I’ve been in classnall weekend.

Let’s go!

2 onions, cut half both ways, then in thick slivers
2 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 T olive oil
2 T sweet Hungarian Paprika (I recommend Penzeys)
1 T hot Hungarian Paprika (I recommend Penzeys)
1/2 tsp. crushed caraway seed (optional)
4 cups homemade beef stock (or 3 cans)
3 cups roasted tomatoes (or 2 cans diced tomatoes – I recommend Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes if using canned tomatoes)
2 cups finely diced cabbage
1 lb. lean ground beef (ground chuck is best)
1 jar (12 oz.) roasted red peppers, diced into 1 inch pieces
sour cream for serving (I use light, do not use fat free sour cream with added sugar)

Links / Sources

http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/02/goulash-soup-with-red-peppers-and.html