Serves: 6 to 8
Takes: 48 hours
You will need
- 1kg beef (any cut – a big lump is best)
- A lot of paprika
- A little vinegar, preferably sherry vinegar or something like that
- About five times as many mushrooms as you think could possibly be involved in this recipe, then some more mushrooms
- 3 onions
- A pot of soured cream
- Plenty of oil
Preparation
48 hours in advance
Cut the meat into thin strips and put in a bowl. Pour in a tiny bit of vinegar, then coat the meat thoroughly with plenty of paprika. Wash your hands, cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge for at least 24 hours, preferably 48 hours.
24 hours in advance
Chop up the onions, fry them with a little oil in a big pot. Chop up the mushrooms (you’re going to want a machine for this, because holy smeg that is a lot of mushrooms) and layer them on top of the onions with a generous helping of paprika. Reduce it all slowly, mixing occasionally, and marvel as the mushrooms release liquid and compress down. Keep it in the fridge until the next day.
On the day
Take the pot of onion-mushroom mixture, put it back on a low hob to warm up, and add the soured cream to it.
Grab a deep frying pan, deep fat fryer, or ideally a wok. Get it nice and hot, with at least an inch of oil. To the side, put a sieve directly over a big bowl. Grab the first handful of meat, put it in the oil and quickly deep fry it; once it’s done, which won’t take long, lift it out and put it into the sieve. The paprika-flavoured oil from it will drip down into the bowl and can be returned to the pan. Go through as many batches as it takes to fry all the meat.
Once both parts are ready, dump the meat directly into the pot with the sauce, stir it up thoroughly, and serve as soon as you’re sure it’s all heated through.
Optionally, serve with chips, rice or couscous.