goulash with bread dumplings

goulash:

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup canola oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 carrots, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

4 cups beef broth

One 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves bread dumplings:

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

12 ounces stale bread, cut into ½-inch cubes

6 ounces Gruyere or Swiss cheese, shredded

3 scallions, finely chopped

Chopped fresh parsley or scallions, for garnish, optional

Serves 8 for the goulash: for the bread dumplings:

Preheat the oven to 250° F.

Sprinkle the beef with ½ teaspoon salt and a few turns of pepper. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is shimmering, sear the beef all over in batches until deep brown, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the beef to a bowl and set aside.

Add the onions and cook, scraping up any meat bits from the bottom of the pan, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic and a pinch of salt and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, tomato paste and caraway and stir to combine; cook for 2 minutes. Add the beef back to the pan, then add the broth, chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the beef is tender and can be broken down with a spoon but still maintains its shape, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon salt and a few turns of pepper in a small bowl. Whisk together the milk and eggs in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes, cheese and scallions to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Mix in the flour mixture. Let the dumpling mixture sit for 15 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Using a ⅓-cup ice cream scoop, form firmly packed balls of the dumpling mixture. Add them to the pot and boil until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Spoon the goulash into bowls and add a dumpling or two to each. Top with chopped parsley or scallions if desired.

MOLLY YEH is the star of Food Network’s new series “Girl Meets Farm.” Her memoir, “Molly On The Range: Recipes and Stories from an Unlikely Life on a Farm” earned her a place on the New York Times top releases of Fall 2016, became winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals judge’s award, and was selected by NPR as one of their “Great Reads of 2016.” Yeh followed with the release of the book “Yogurt,” featuring recipes dedicated to an ingredient she calls “the duct tape of food.” Yeh is the creator of the acclaimed lifestyle food blog mynameisyeh.com. She has been featured in the New York Times, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and New York Magazine, and has contributed to Vanity Fair, Saveur, Condé Nast Traveler, Food52, and The Jewish Daily Forward. She was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for 2017 and Apartment Therapy ’s 10 under 40 list. Outside the kitchen, Yeh is a Juilliard-trained percussionist and has performed with orchestras around the world, in off-Broadway theater, and as the glockenspielist for the pop-band San Fermin. She lives on a farm on the North Dakota-Minnesota border with her fifth-generation farmer husband and their little flock of chickens.