Gulasch for Mucka

So I officially started work last week. I'm really excited, the photography crew I'm working with is really nice. I am also working with my mom, documenting all the artifacts, letters, and photographs we own from our ancestors. She has become quite obsessed with the subject! It's been fascinating to study my ancestry of course, and I just wanted to share some of the photos I took this past week, plus a recipe inspired by my roots.
The very top picture is of my great grandmother, Mucka. Underneath my grandparents. The family tree to the right, and then the last two photos are of employes that worked in the family hardware store "Zu den Zwei Rittern". The store has been in our family since 1825, and is now run by my mother.

  
I decided to do a little tribute to my ancestors, and make an austrian dish; potato gulasch. My grandmother used to make this for us kids allot. It's a really cheap and filling meal, and doesn't take a lot of effort to make + it's absolutely delicious, no joke, it really is, and it's a perfect fall and winter meal!

I made a gluten free version by replacing regular flour with corn flour.

Ingredients (3 big portions, no leftovers)

8 medium sized potatoes (quartered)
half of a bunch of parsley (whole)
1 red pepper (medium chunks)
1/2 of large cucumber or 1 small cucumber (cut into medium chunks)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground caraway
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 bay leaf
corn flour
some tomato paste to taste
some chili flakes
salt to taste

(I'm sort of guesstimating all the spice measurements, but just start with less, and add more if you need to)

Fry the onions in some olive oil until they are all glassy and soft, then add the paprika and the peppers, and keep it on the heat a little while longer (~5min.) Then add the cucumber, again keep it on the heat another couple minutes.










Now just toss in your potatoes, add some water until they are almost completely covered. Throw in the rest of the spices; caraway, bay leaf, tomato paste, parsley, chili flakes and salt. Taste, add a little more if you need to. You can go pretty heavy on the paprika, but should be careful with the caraway, it's pretty intense.

At this point you just cover the whole thing, and let it simmer for a while, until the potatoes are through. Check on  the water situation every now and again, the potatoes should be almost completely covered at all times.
When the potatoes are through you can start the thickening process. I just dissolved one teaspoon of flour in a little bit of water (you don't just want to throw it in the gulasch, since the flour could form into little chunks) So just pour in your mixture, slowly (not everything at once!), let it simmer and wait to see how much it thickens, and then if still to watery, add more.
I also took out a couple of the potatoes, mashed them, and put them back (just another way to make the whole thing less watery)
Thats it! I really enjoyed it allot, especially since I have not been eating typical austrian cuisine since I am back in Vienna! I think it was Kyle's Schnitzel recipe that got me thinking why I don't cook more austrian myself!
Enjoy!
-Steffi