Did we say soup season? Naw, we meant stew season. The Halloweeny vibes of deep fall and early winter demand beany substance and spongy protein chunk, not purees or sprinkled garnishes. With that in mind, we pursued an old cobwebbed recipe for goulash — the spice-spiked Hungarian stew that brightens the lives of all the Kafka-reading saps in Eastern Europe. That beefy glop hinges on tough muscle tissue that is browned in butter. We started the same way but with homemade seitan chunks.
Still, that sounded kind of drab and, well, brown. So we pulled a mash-up and injected our goulash with a shot of borscht — the eerily pink-red beet soup also intimately part of the depressing weather palate. The beets and dill heighten the flavor from just being dank, while still keeping it earthy. Best of all, you can store it for up to a week and every day the stuff gets more and more fuchsia. Just make sure to wear a bib and clean your knives.
Goulash-Borscht Stew
(Serves 8-10 people)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small block seitan (roughly 10-12 oz)
2 white onions
3 stalks of celery
6 cloves garlic
1 small bunch heirloom carrots (8-10)
1 russet potato
2 whole beets
1 Tbs. paprika
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 cups mushroom stock
1 cup kidney beans
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup Swiss chard, chopped (beet greens will work)
1 Tbs. dried dill
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh black pepper
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup red wine
1. Brown the beef! Put a large soup pot on high heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom (about half total amount). Cut your seitan into medium-sized cubes, peel and chop one of the onions and toss both into the oil, stirring every couple seconds. Cook until seitan cubes are slightly crispy (about 5 minutes). Remove seitan (leave as much remaining oil as possible in the pot) and set aside.
2. Prepare the other veggies: peel and chop the second onion, slice thin pieces of celery, chop garlic, cut thin circular carrot discs and carve thick chunks of potato. Add all to the pot. Peel your beets, hack into thick cubes, and toss in as well. Season with paprika(s) and cumin and man the pot, stirring thoroughly for about 10 minutes.
3. Add mushroom stock (hot, not cold) followed by tomatoes, Swiss chard, dill and seasonings. Bring stew up to a boil and let simmer for no less than one hour. In the last five minutes, add your red wine.
4. Ladle out portions and top bowls with the still warm seitan cubes on top, this way it’ll limit how squishy it gets from the soup.
Beverage: Great Divide’s Yeti Imperial Stout
Soundtrack: Godspeed You Black Emperor! Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada
