RECIPE – goulash with mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli

I strongly recommend this dish for its excellent taste and ease of preparation. It can be eaten with any goulash-type stew. And the best goulash I ever had and have been copying—from memory—was made by the Polish cook of my (White) Russian friends in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. When I got to know the family the cook was old. Could have been in her fifties or in her sixties, she missed quite a few teeth from her mouth, had lots of wrinkles and eyes that kept on smiling even when she scolded "her" boys (the oldest one was my friend Alexander) for not wiping their feet or similar household offences. She had been with the family very long, most of her life actually. She had been the personal servant of my friend's mother and had fled Russia with the family shortly after the October revolution in 1917.

And this is the way she made goulash: one third beef, one third pork and one third onions, a couple of tomatoes, garlic, a generous amount of paprika powder, salt to taste and pepper. And then let it simmer for hours and hours, preferably in a cast iron casserole.

I don't give any quantities, it all depends on how many you want to feed.

Now the mash. Again without quantities. Not only do you yourself adjust the amounts according to the number of mouths, but you also will want to decide whether the mash will be more on the broccoli side or on the sweet potatoes. I personally like my mash rather green, so more broccoli!

Wash and cut both the broccoli and the peeled sweet potatoes into smallish pieces. Boil with a bit of salt and when done mash them while adding a dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I just read that what is sold in the shops as EVOO is in fact a weak imitation of the real thing. Not only is the oil very often adulterated by mixing in hazelnut oil or other vegetable oils, but even if pure, EVOO loses its qualities rather quickly. Three months after pressing the oil is no longer considered top.

For those who insist on top quality there is now a Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club. They sell guaranteed fresh an unadulterated EVOO… at a price! A standard bottle is US$39.

Back to the mash. Yesterday I placed it as a first layer in a oven-safe Pyrex, then grated cheese (Cheddar) as a second layer and the goulash on top. Some twenty minutes in oven at medium heat. Very tasty indeed.