Submitted by Deb Flomberg, Marketing Director for The Jewish Experience
I was raised in a Hungarian/Jewish household, which means we had lots of Goulash and Paprikash at pretty much every Jewish holiday. However, one of the most comforting foods from my childhood is a simple stew made of hot dogs, potatoes and onions in a paprika-based broth. My mom called it Frankfurter Goulash, and it was a staple in my house growing up – 100% pure comfort food.
I always thought it was something my mother made up. I figured one day, she opened the cupboard and saw that all we had were some potatoes and a package of Hebrew Nationals, and threw this together. But I didn’t care, it was always one of my favorites and a hot bowl of this still takes me back to being 10 years old, sitting in my parent’s kitchen.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and I was working with another person of Hungarian/Jewish descent. One day, during a break, we began speaking about our similar backgrounds and he mentioned this dish. I was shocked. “There’s no way!” I said. “My mom made that dish up!” The next day he brought in his own homemade bowl of Frankfurter Goulash. I took a taste and it was exactly the same as my mother made. So he proved me wrong – my mother did not make this up. In fact, a quick Google Search shows many variations of traditional Hungarian Frankfurter Goulash. This version is very easy to make and is a perfect weeknight dish when you’re looking for something quick.
Ingredients
Serves 3 to 6 people, depending on how much leftovers you’d like to have. It’s a tasty lunch reheated, so we always made a big batch.
- 1 to 2 packages of all beef hot dogs (My mother would only use Hebrew National)
- 2 to 3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (or make it easy and go with 1 to 2 cans of diced potatoes)
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 to 4 tablespoons of Paprika (See note in instructions)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of Garlic Powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of Onion Powder
- Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil
- Add onions and sauté until lightly golden
- Add a bit of water to deglaze the pan and stir well, scraping any flavor from the bottom
- Add in the hotdogs and potatoes, add enough water to cover
- Add in seasonings (Note for Paprika: This is very much an estimate. As is with so many family recipes, this is “by eye” and I add enough Paprika that the water turns red.)
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes
- Serve hot with some crusty bread to dip in the broth
