My hus­band is 100% Hun­gar­ian and guy­las leves, as they say in Hun­gary, is a hearty stew wor­thy of a long sim­mer to be eaten on a fall or win­ter day. I think every Hun­gar­ian fam­ily has their own recipe, so here is my adap­ta­tion. Jo et vagyat! (Good appetite!)

Prep time: 30 min­utes
Total time: 2 1/2 hours
Yield:  Serves 6–8

2 T olive oil
2 red bell pep­pers, seeds removed, cut in half then sliced into 1/2″ strips
1 large yel­low onion, chopped
2 lbs. stew meat
2 T sweet Hun­gar­ian paprika
1 tsp. salt
3 c. beef broth
1 c. chicken broth
3 small red pota­toes
1 T car­away seeds

1. In a Dutch oven or heavy bot­tomed stock pot, add oil and heat until hot.
2. Add pep­pers and onions and saute until wilted, about 10 minutes.
3. While pep­pers and onions are cook­ing, cut the meat into small pieces if nec­es­sary, to make them bite-sized. Brown beef in a heavy bot­tomed pan (I use cast iron) in sev­eral batches.
4. Add beef and stock to pep­per and onion mix­tures and bring to a boil. Reduce to a sim­mer and cook cov­ered for 1 1/2 hours.
5. With skin on, slice pota­toes into bite-sized pieces and add to stew. Sim­mer for another 1/2 hour. You will know the stew is ready when you can smash a piece of meat against the pot with a wooden spoon and it comes apart easily.
6. In a small skil­let, toast the car­away seeds over high heat until they begin to pop for 15 or 20 sec­onds. Add toasted seeds to stew.