Dinner tonight: Hungarian Veal Paprikash

I love going to the grocery store. I am like a kid in a candy shop, or a bull in a china shop, or *insert your own cliche' here*. Well, I shouldn't be allowed to go alone. I planned on cooking this recipe for Veal Bolognese from Jenise who posts on Wine Lover's Forums. BUT, I got chopped veal steak instead of ground veal. Oh well. Roll with the punches that is what I always say. I hit the web & went to Epicurious.com, where I stumbeled across this gem...Hungarian Veal Paprikash. We polished off some Bogle Merlot & had some Ecco Domani Chianti with it (notes soon). We also had some buttered penne with parmesan. It was fantastic. The Merlot was a much better match than the Chianti, but both were good. Here is the recipe.



VEAL PAPRIKASH

3 tablespoons (or more) lard, or 1 tablespoon bacon fat and 2 tablespoons (or more) olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 large shallot, minced
2 1/2 pounds 1/4-inch-thick veal scallops
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika or cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 cup sour cream

Melt lard in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions; cover skillet and cook until onions are soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add shallot; increase heat to medium-high and sauté until onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer onions and shallot to small bowl.

Sprinkle veal with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add veal scallops to drippings in skillet and sauté until browned, about 1 minute per side, adding more lard as needed and transferring veal to plate after each batch. Return onion mixture to skillet. Add tomatoes with juice, sweet paprika, hot paprika, and marjoram. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Return veal and any accumulated juices to sauce. Simmer 1 minute, turning veal to coat. Using slotted spoon, transfer veal to platter. Mix sour cream into sauce and heat through (do not boil). Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over veal and serve.

Makes 8 servings.