Hungarian Outlaw Soup

Don't you just love the Outlaw name? This is one of my favorite soups - I only make it a couple times a year because it's a bit of a pain to dice everything so small and I guess you could chop things into bigger chunks if you were feeling a little lazy, but the best thing about this soup is everything is the same size so each bite is full of amazing flavors. And really, once you get it all chopped up the rest of the soup is a breeze. Now for some people Veal is a bad word, and I use a "young cow" sold as Vitellone, but if you can't find that try a reputable butcher for veal if you don't mind. It's best made a day ahead as the flavors will meld together. Comforting food is my theme of the month! Picture was taken before the cream mixture was added so you could see all the little bits. Adapted from Fine Cooking

Hungarian Outlaw Soup serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion finely chopped

4 slices thick cut bacon diced

2 tablespoons hungarian sweet paprika

1 teaspoon spanish smoked paprika (I just love this smoky addition)

3/4 pound of a thin cut beef/veal scallopini or pork scallopini cut into 1/4 inch dice (freeze it for a little while so it's easier to cut)

about 3-4 cups chicken stock

3 medium carrots diced

1 medium turnip diced

1 small rutabaga diced

1/2 pound large brown mushrooms diced

3 medium yukon gold potatoes diced

1/3 cup chopped tomatoes (I use the roasted tomatoes that I made in the summer and froze -can't stand the fresh ones this time of year, but a good can of San Marzano or Romas will work too)

s&p

1 and 1/2 cups sour cream

3 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup cream

Ok first off - chop everything into about 1/4 inch dice - that's the real work! Now, saute the onions and bacon in a large pot until soft and caramelized about 15 min. Then add the paprikas and cook another couple min. Put in the beef and cover with stock and simmer on low for 20 min. covered. Add all the veggies and barely cover with more broth and simmer another 20 min, adding more broth if needed. Taste to season and see if the veggies are cooked. Whisk the sour cream, flour and cream in a large measuring cup then pour into the soup and simmer another 5 min until it is thick stirring constantly. Serve hot with crusty bread! If you want to freeze part of this don't add the sour cream mixture, freeze and then cook in the cream when you are serving.