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elbow macaroni with fine cooked ground beef crumbles, diced green pepper and onion in a thick red tomato sauce in an ordinary bowl, with no beans, cheese or garnish
Rachel Kim

One Pot Goulash

American goulash is a beef-and-macaroni pot, and I want the tomato and paprika to come through before any cheese does. This version leaves the cheese out entirely. Green pepper, a little Worcestershire and a bay leaf build a sauce that tastes rounder after a short simmer, while the elbows go in only for their own cooking time instead of swelling through the whole process. Pull the pot off the burner while the sauce is still loose enough to move when you tilt it.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/4 lb 90% lean ground beef
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 1 green bell pepper diced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes
  • 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • 1/2 cup water reserved
  • 10 oz dry elbow macaroni
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Method
 

  1. Brown beef, onion and green pepper in a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 9 minutes, breaking the beef into small crumbles and cooking it to 160°F. Drain excess fat.
  2. Stir in garlic, paprika and oregano for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire, bay leaf, salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes.
  3. Stir in macaroni and cook at a steady uncovered simmer for 11 to 14 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
  4. Add reserved water a little at a time if the sauce becomes dry before the elbows are tender. Keep the finished sauce loose enough to flow around the pasta.
  5. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf and rest for 3 minutes. Divide among 6 bowls.