My grandma’s famous goulash recipe was passed down from her to my dad. She passed away years before I was born so I never knew her, but this recipe makes me feel as though I still have something of hers to connect with.

My grandmother’s name was Ludmilla, and our family is from the Kärnten region of Austria. The goulash itself is actually a Hungarian dish, but Austrians and Hungarians share similar cuisine.

It’s just the best comfort food and I love cooking it for other people. It takes around 3 hours total for prepping and cooking time – even though the actual prepping doesn’t take a huge amount of work, it’s mostly the waiting – so I feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when I manage to pull it off.

Method:

1. Put paprika, flour, sugar in a bowl, mill well together. Add about 1/3 to ½ a tube tomato puree and mix to a thick paste. Make up a pint of stock.

2. Cut beef into cubes to whatever size you want, slice (rather than chop) onions, chop pepper and tomatoes and add to pot.

3. Start blending a little stock at a time into the paste of paprika/flour sugar. Just do a bit at a time and mix well to avoid lumps. Keep adding stock a bit at a time until you get a thick liquid.

4.Add whatever seasoning – salt/pepper/a few mixed herbs – to the food in the pot and mix with a spoon. Start adding the thick liquid to the pot and stir well to coat everything. When all the thick liquid mixed in, add the rest of the stock to the pot.

5. Put a lid on it and pop it in the oven at 200 degrees for minimum 2h (2.5h would be better). Check and stir every 30 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t burn or reduce too much, turn heat down (later in cooking) if you think it is necessary.

6. When cooked bring it out and let it sit/cool for 10 minutes until you serve. Taste and add a bit of seasoning if required.

Tip: It goes well with fluffy mashed potatoes or tagliatelle!