Beef Apple Goulash

Chop meat into bite size pieces. Place in a bowl, sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour on top and mix thoroughly using your hands. Remove excess flour by patting the meat pieces with your hands.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan. Divide meat in two or three batches depending on the size of your pan and brown them all over in the hot oil. Add more oil before adding a new batch of meat to the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan.

In the meantime, roughly chop onions and garlic.

After browning the last batch of meat, add onions and garlic. Let them get lightly colored, then add the rest of the browned meat, bay leaves and beef stock. There should be enough liquid in the pan to cover the meat. Cover the pan, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 60 minutes.

Clean and slice carrots and add to the goulash. Continue simmering for another 15 minutes.

Chop peeled apples into small cubes and add them to the pan. Simmer for another 15 minutes. (You can leave the peel on if you like, which is what I did, but it tends to remain whole in the goulash while the flesh of the apple almost melts away. It is your choice, do as you please.) Taste the food and add 1 or 2 teaspoons clear honey if the apples are too tart.

Stir together heavy cream and remaining flour, taking care to dissolve the clumps. Whisk this mixture into the goulash and let cook gently for about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with boiled potatoes or Semmelknödel (German bread dumplings) or Spätzle (German homemade noodles) and German stewed red cabbage.