Duck leg goulash
This dish gives you fall-apart tender duck legs in a rich paprika gravy, but is almost entirely unhelpful in conquering the Danube valley on horseback.
Historical authenticity regardless, it's damn tasty and with deep flavours and a brightness from the pepper, it's well suited to the start of autumn.
For a long time, it was easy to eat bad goulash in Britain. Not unlike "spaghetti bolognaise" or (gods help us) "chili con carne", we took it to our national bosom and crushed it a little with the hug. All there of these often get dished up as sad, gritty orange water, and in each case trying to go back to the dish's roots turns up something strikingly different to the popular caricature.
The Elisabeth Luard recipe owes more to spiced broth than thick stew, omitting tomatoes and forbidding flour. Her book European Peasant Cookery has a nice exploration of the origins of goulash, and a trio of Paprikas/Porkolt/Bogracsgulyas recipes to show the working. Apparently it had to do with Magyar nomads. Felicity Cloake has been deep into goulash's origins, and returned with a wonderful, thickened but non-tomato compromise.
Personally though I do like a little tomato in the mix. Not too much, but enough to liven the colour and obviate the need for citrus. Oh, I also bunged in some duck legs and za'atar, because I can't leave well alone.
Ingredients:
Duck legs, 4
Red onion, 2 large
Red pepper, 2 large
Garlic, 2 cloves
Plum tomatoes, 2 decent sized
Beef stock, 400ml and the richer the better
Red wine, 150ml something fruity. (Rioja works)
Smoked paprika, 1tbsp
Paprika, 1tbsp (more if it's mild, or use the sweet kind)
Black pepper
Za'atar, 1tsp
Serves 4 generously. Boned and diced, 3 legs would serve 4 people well enough. Lower the cooking time if you're doing that.
Instructions:
Core the peppers and slice them into strips. Cut the onion into eighths or slivers. Slice the garlic. Rough chop the tomatoes. Heat the oven to 160c.
Get a heavy-ish pan quite hot, and in a little oil brown the duck legs. Cook them for around 6 minutes on each side to colour, then remove them to a heavy, lidded casserole that will comfortably hold all four legs, along with the other ingredients. Be sure to retain the tasty duck fat in the frying pan.
Lower the heat, and cook the peppers and onions for around 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, paprika, a sturdy grating of pepper, and the za'atar, then stir this all round, frying for a minute or so.
Add the tomatoes and liquids, and bring it back to a simmer, then add all this to the casserole with the duck and put it in the oven, covered, for 40 minutes.
After that time, it'll be pungent, nearly done, and quite sloppy. The duck will also have given off loads of fat, and you might want to skim that. Raise the heat to 180, and put it back in the oven, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or so to finish and reduce.
Gelatin from the duck and the stock should have thickened it just slightly and given it a rich gloss. But this will still be quite a thin sauce, so if you like it thicker, you can reduce it on the hob.
Half a teaspoon of cornflour whisked into a couple tablespoons of water would save you some time here. but I really don't like doing it.
Serve with mash, or loads of bread. It'd even take little dumplings, as in the Luard recipe. Cabbage or sauerkraut are great on the side, and it would take the sweetness of cooking with chunks of carrot added.
The paprika and peppers sweeten and lighten what would otherwise be a dark, deep stew. The za'atar ties it all together, with the sumac in there adding to the fruity/acid edge to go through the richness and fat. I know carraway and citrus (or more tomato) is more traditional, but this slightly unusual finish doesn't disappoint, and it's certainly aromatic.
It takes a little while, but it has a fairly appealing simplicity, too. So it's a satisfying meal for evenings that are just starting to draw in, when you want something warming and can't quite face hefty cooking. You can also make it in advance. It'll reheat, or you can take it to the halfway point, after 40 minutes in the oven, and then finish the next day.
Pair with a big rioja, or a butch Zinfandel like this US one - it's a phenomenal wine, and you can get it from waitrose in the UK for twelve quid.
