Hungarian Beef Stew

Cut your roast into stew sized chunks, salt, cover and set aside.

Blend the roasted red bell pepper, paprika, tomato paste, and vinegar in a food processor or blender and set aside.

Put a large cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat.

Add olive oil, add the onions, some salt and cook them for about 10 minutes.

(DO NOT let them caramelize. You're just sweating them.)

Add your blended mix of roasted peppers and paprika to the onions. Stir it in and cook the mixture for another 10 - 15 minutes until the sauce starts to stick to the bottom of the pot and form a gummy paste.

Add the uncooked beef, carrots, beets and one bay leaf to the pot. Add some kosher sea salt, and then mix everything.

Cover with a lid and place in a 325 degree oven for 2- 2 1/2 hours.

(Do not add any liquid at this time. That's because the onions provide plenty of liquid as they slowly cook down.)

After the 2- 2 1/2 hours, remove from oven and add no more than 1 cup of beef broth. Mix it in, cover again and put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven, take out the bay leaf and then add 1/4 cup of plain goat yogurt and a splash of vinegar. Stir to mix thoroughly.

Serve this over potatoes or noodles.

--We based this recipe off of a Traditional Hungarian Ghoulash recipe we saw on America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated). It's actually quite simple to make, but it does take a long time to cook in the oven because you cook it on very low heat for 2.5 - 3 hours. Some of the techniques they use are counter-intuitive (don't caramelize the onions or brown the beef), but they work. Best of all, this one is one pot easy!