Today we're heading to Austria — a country where the culinary traditions of the Habsburg Empire are still alive. We're making two dishes that Austrians consider their own: hearty goulash and torn imperial pancake.
🍲 Goulash (Gulasch)
Rich stewed meat in thick red sauce with paprika and onions, so dense the spoon stands upright. A classic of Viennese cafés and home dinners — warming, aromatic dish with deep flavor.
Ingredients:
• Beef shoulder — 800 g
• Yellow onions — 3 large onions (about 450 g)
• Sweet paprika — 3 tablespoons
• Tomato paste — 2 tablespoons
• Beef broth — 500 ml
• Dry red wine — 150 ml
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Caraway seeds — 1 teaspoon
• Lard or vegetable oil — 3 tablespoons
• Flour — 1 tablespoon
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
• Fresh herbs (parsley) — for serving
Preparation:
Step 1. Cut the beef shoulder into 2.5–3 cm cubes, removing large sinews and membranes. The meat should be uniform size for even cooking. Peel the onions and cut into thin half-rings 2–3 mm thick. Mince the garlic into paste with a knife or press through a garlic press.
Step 2. Heat the lard (or oil) in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until a light haze appears. Add the onions and sauté, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, 12–15 minutes. The onions should become completely soft, golden-caramelized, but not burned. This is the flavor foundation of goulash.
Step 3. Remove the pot from heat and add the paprika, stir quickly (paprika burns instantly over direct heat). Return to heat, add tomato paste, garlic, and caraway, stir for 1–2 minutes until a rich aroma develops. The mixture should become uniform, dark red, aromatic.
Step 4. Increase heat to high, add the meat to the pot and quickly sear on all sides for 5–7 minutes, stirring constantly. The meat should turn white on the outside and develop a crust, but not cook through completely. Pour in the wine, let it reduce by half (about 3 minutes), then pour in the broth.
Step 5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to minimum, cover with lid and braise for 1.5–2 hours. Every 30 minutes check the liquid level — if it's evaporating too quickly, add 50–100 ml hot water at a time. The meat is ready when it separates easily with a fork and the fibers fall apart.
Step 6. 20 minutes before done, mix the flour with 2 tablespoons cold water into a smooth paste, pour into the goulash, stir. This will make the sauce thick and velvety. Salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should be dense enough that a spoon leaves a trail.
Step 7. Remove from heat, let stand covered for 10 minutes. Serve in deep bowls, sprinkled with chopped parsley, with bread, dumplings (Semmelknödel), or boiled potatoes.
💡 Fact: Goulash came to Austria from Hungary during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but Austrians made it their own — they added more onions, caraway, and made the sauce thicker than the Hungarian original.
🥞 Emperor's Mess (Kaiserschmarrn)
Torn sweet pancake with caramelized edges and fluffy center, dusted with powdered sugar. Served hot with fruit compote or apple sauce — it's the emperor's breakfast that became a national favorite.
Ingredients:
• Eggs — 4 large
• Milk — 150 ml
• Flour — 100 g
• Sugar — 3 tablespoons
• Vanilla sugar — 1 teaspoon
• Salt — pinch
• Raisins — 50 g (optional)
• Butter — 40 g
• Powdered sugar — for serving
• Plum compote or apple purée — for serving
Preparation:
Step 1. Separate yolks from whites. Whisk the yolks with 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla sugar until light yellow and slightly increased in volume (about 2 minutes). Pour in the milk, stir until uniform.
Step 2. Sift the flour into the yolk mixture through a sieve, whisk until completely smooth batter without lumps. The batter should have the consistency of thin sour cream, flowing from the whisk in a continuous ribbon. If using raisins, add them now and stir.
Step 3. In a clean dry bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt using a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form (2–3 minutes). Add the remaining tablespoon of sugar, beat for another minute until firm glossy peaks. The whites should not be dry or grainy — they hold their shape but remain silky.
Step 4. Carefully fold one-third of the beaten whites into the yolk batter, mixing with a spatula in upward movements to loosen the base. Then add the remaining whites and fold in with wide, gentle movements until uniform. The batter should remain airy, fluffy, increased in volume.
Step 5. Heat a 24–26 cm diameter pan over medium heat, melt half the butter until it foams. Pour all the batter into the pan, smooth with a spatula. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the bottom sets and becomes golden, while the top remains slightly liquid.
Step 6. Flip the pancake whole (you can use a large plate as an intermediate surface) or divide it with a spatula into 4 parts and flip each one. Add the remaining butter around the edges of the pan. Cook another 2–3 minutes until the second side browns. The pancake should be cooked through inside but remain soft.
Step 7. Tear the pancake into uneven pieces 3–5 cm in size using two forks or spatulas (this is the classic torn look of kaiserschmarrn). Increase heat to high, fry the pieces, stirring constantly, for 1–2 minutes so the edges caramelize and become crispy while the center remains airy.
Step 8. Immediately transfer to a plate, generously dust with powdered sugar through a sieve. Serve right away while hot, with warm plum compote (Zwetschkenröster) or apple purée.
💡 Fact: Legend has it the dish was named after Emperor Franz Joseph I, who loved simple sweets. When the court chef accidentally tore a thin pancake, the emperor said: "Now give me my Schmarren (mess)" — and the dish entered history.