Hungarian Bean Gulyas with Ham Hock

Beans are not just yummy, but they are so good for you! I love preparing them different ways. They are high in fiber, protein, antioxidants and very heart healthy. This recipe is coming from my grandma’s kitchen and it’s a very popular dish in Hungary. We consider this a full meal. It is absolutely delicious and very filling. I used black eye peas in my recipe but you can make this from lima beans, white beans, pinto beans and kidney beans. Give it a try! I promise you will absolutely love it :)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of black eye peas

• ham hock (trimmed)

• 3-4 red potatoes

• hungarian red paprika

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 green bell pepper

• 2 medium to large size tomatoes

• 4-5 carrots

• 2 parsnips

• 1 egg

• rice flour

• oil (I used grape seed oil)

• cilantro

• chili sauce

• better than bouillon

• black pepper

• sour cream

Instructions:

• soak the beans in water for at least an hour

• in a large soup pot put 1 cup rice flour or regular flour (your choice)

• mix it with 1/2 of a cup of oil until it’s smooth

• turn on the stove on medium heat and stir it

• add in your garlic and slightly brown this mixture

• after a few minutes when it’s slightly browned, pull it off the stove and add in 1/2 of a cup hungarian paprika and mix it, then add in 2 cups of water and stir this until it’s really smooth. Once it’s the right texture add in about 5 more cups of water. It has to be really smooth.

• now you can put it back on the stove and add 1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper

• add in your beans, already cut up carrots and parsnips, bell pepper, tomatoes and your ham hock ( I trim the ham hock and add this to the soup but in addition I also cut up about 2-3 ham slices into small pieces and also add this to the mix)

• cover it with a lid and on medium heat cook this until the beans are soft (approximately 1 hour) After cooking this for about 1/2 hour, taste it and accordingly add beef or vegetable “better than bouillon”. Most likely you will need 1 tablespoon. The ham can be really salty so it’s also possible you will not need any bouillon.

• Once the beans are almost ready add in your already cut up potatoes

• Now start preparing your handmade noodles. In a bowl put 2 cups of flour and 1 egg. Add a little salt and you can also add black pepper if you would like to. Keep mixing this into a hard little ball :) …( Soon I will add a video just on this segment as I am getting a lot of questions on it.)

• Wait until the soup is boiling and the potatoes are soft and now you can start grading your noodles into the soup.

• Dice 1/2 of a bunch cilantro and add it to the soup. Cover it with a lid and you can turn off the heat. Let is sit for about 15 minutes or so before serving.

• Serve it with sour cream, chili sauce and sourdough bread on the side. (This is my preference for bread) These two ingredient will even make it more delicious. I usually add 1 teaspoon of each to a bowl of soup but feel free to use more or less.

Bon Apetit!