Sausage and Potato Goulash

It's Mystery Box Madness week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  Mystery Box week is quite a challenge mainly because the possibilities are endless.  We have a list of ten mystery ingredients from which we need to choose at least three ingredients and then we choose any recipe from one of our eleven IHCC chefs.  It's always somewhat overwhelming for me because there are so many different ways to combine the ingredients and so many different chefs' recipes to chose from.  Decision making...not my strong suit.

This week our mystery ingredients were: potatoes, buttermilk, flour, paprika, onion, any kind of leafy green, lemon, honey, shrimp, and feta.  Originally I wanted to make fried chicken but I waited until the last minute and my chicken didn't have enough time to marinate in the buttermilk.  Procrastination...the story of my life.  So, I chose to look through my Tessa Kiros cookbooks and when I saw her recipe for Sausage and Potato Goulash I knew I had a winner.  Tessa's goulash featured three of the mystery box ingredients (potatoes, onion, and paprika), it's easy with quick clean up (one pot meal); and extremely family friendly! This recipe was so fabulous! We loved the thick creamy paprika flavored sauce and the velvety texture of the potatoes.  It was a definite crowd pleaser! Highly recommend it if you have some meat and potato lovers.

Sausage and Potato Goulash

Adapted from Apples for Jam

by Tessa Kiros

Serves 8

1-3/4 pounds good quality sausages

2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 to 2 teaspoons sweet paprika

5 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks

1 cup canned diced tomatoes

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

2 cups hot water

salt and pepper, to taste

chopped fresh parsley, to taste

1 tablespoon, cornstarch, optional*

Note: The goulash wasn't as thick as I'd hoped so I took out 4-5 tablespoons of the sauce, added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to it, mixed well, and stirring it into the goulash and continued to cook until thick, as desired.

Slice the sausages into rounds about 1/2 inch thick.  Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan (cast iron is best) and saute the onion for a couple of minutes over medium heat.  Stir in the paprika, cook for 30 seconds or so, and then add the sausages.  Continue cooking, stirring fairly often, until the sausages turn golden in places.  Add the potatoes, tomatoes, cinnamon, bay leaf, and 2 cups of hot water.  Season with salt and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are softened and the goulash is thick and stewy.  Stir with a wooden spoon from time to time and loosen the bits at the bottom to make sure they don't stick.  If the potatoes are not quite done after that time, take the pan off the heat and leave it with the lid on for the potatoes to continue steaming (see also note above regarding thickness of goulash.* Mix the parsley through and serve hot directly out of the skillet.