Foodie Friday: Spicy Pork Goulash w/ Creamy Lemon Rice

When Dearest first showed this recipe to me, all I could think was "what is Goulash?!" 

Thank you, Wikipedia!

We're always looking for new recipes and it sounded tasty, so we gave it a shot. And I am SO thankful we did. It is delicious! Definitely has a good kick to it and the flavors are bold and go together so well. Without further ado, here's the recipe. :)

Spicy Pork Goulash with Creamy Lemon Rice

1 1/2 lbs stewing pork (I use boneless country style spare ribs) 

1/3 cup flour

2 red onions

1 small bunch of parsley

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 pinch of cayenne 

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 16oz jar of roasted red peppers

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

2 fresh red chiles

2/3 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups basmati rice

1 lemon

1 tbsp butter

*You will need a large pot with a lid that can be put into the oven. A dutch oven works wonderfully, but I just use a stainless steel soup pot with it's lid.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dice the pork into 1-1.5" cubes. Season the cubes with salt and pepper, then toss in the flour making sure that all sides are covered. Shake the cubes to get off excess flour. 

Heat a pan over med to med-high heat. Add canola or olive oil. When the oil is hot, fry the pork until all sides are golden brown. You can do this in batches.

Pick the parsley leaves off the stalks and set aside. Chop the stalks. Slice the onions into thin slivers. 

When the meat is brown, add the onions and parsley stalks, along with the paprika, oregano and cayenne.

Prepare your roasted red peppers: drain the peppers, but save the juice. Dice the peppers into 1" chunks. (Your parsley stalks should already be in the pot, but I had a mis-hap the first time I made this.)

When the onions are soft and begin to become translucent, add the peppers, their juice, the red wine vinegar, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. 

Bring to a boil, then cover and cook in the oven for 1 hr and 45 minutes. 

When there's about 30 minutes left on the goulash, start preparing the rice. Bring some water to a boil while you zest and juice the lemon. In a non-stick pot, melt the butter. Add the basmati rice and cook for ~2 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice along with 1 1/3 cups boiling water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. 

Chop the parsley leaves. Seed and finely chop the fresh chiles. When the timer is up on the goulash, pull it out of the oven. If it's too watery, feel free to simmer it on the stove uncovered to boil off some of the liquid. Stir the parsley and chilies into the goulash. 

Serve the goulash over the rice and top with a small dollop of sour cream. Enjoy! :)