Jan's vegetarian goulash

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 liter vegetable broth
• e.g. olive oil
• 200 g soy, textured, cubes or shreds
• 2 stalk(s) celery
• 5 m.-sized onion(s)
• 2 ½ cloves garlic
• 2 large bell peppers
• ½ bunch basil
• 2 stalk(s) spring onion(s)
• n. B. Caraway powder
• n. B. Thyme
• n. B. Paprika powder, sweet
• e.g. Paprika powder, hot
• n. B. salt and pepper, black
• possibly chili
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

very easy to veganize – or to make meat.

Soak the textured soy in rich vegetable stock. Chop the celery and sauté in olive oil. Chop the onions, add them, and sauté. Do the same with the garlic. Chop the bell peppers, not too finely, and add them to the pan. Squeeze out the soy and add them. Simmer briefly. Finely chop the fresh basil. You can also use the fine stems; you don’t have to limit yourself to just the leaves. Add a generous amount of caraway, basil, thyme, sweet paprika, and hot paprika, a pinch of salt, and a small grind of black pepper. Pour hot water into the pan until everything is just covered. Stir, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes at about level 6 out of 10. Season again with a generous amount of sweet paprika and a pinch of salt. If you like, you can also spice things up with hot paprika or a touch of chili. Stir, topping up the water level if necessary – everything should be about half covered. Then simmer for about 10-20 minutes. Just before serving, season with a pinch of salt, 1 generous teaspoon of honey, and about 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Don’t overdo the vinegar! Stir, and after simmering for 1-2 minutes, add a good splash of cream and the spring onions, finely sliced. Use the green and white parts of the onions! Bring everything back to a boil briefly. Done! This goes well with fusilli pasta or potatoes, for example. Important: Not too much balsamic vinegar, not too much spice! Before adding the cream, the liquid level should be just a little, otherwise it will become too thick. If in doubt, reduce everything for a few minutes first! Do not simmer for less than 45-60 minutes in total. It would, of course, be better to allow a little more time between the first and second seasoning. The goulash is very easy to veganize by omitting or replacing the cream and honey. If you want something meaty, use about 300g of good, not too lean beef.