Czech Goulash

Cut the beef (chuck or shank) into 2–3 cm cubes, and finely chop the onions — by weight, you should have nearly as much onion as meat.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, sauté the onions until golden-brown, about 10 minutes, then add the caraway seeds and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Add the beef, season with salt, and sear over high heat until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the paprika, black pepper, and tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute, stirring in 1–2 tablespoons of water to keep the paprika from burning.

Pour in enough hot broth to almost cover the meat, add the bay leaf, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour 40 minutes until the meat is tender, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid if needed.

Once the meat is tender, sift flour evenly over the surface without stirring, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes, then stir in — the sauce will thicken.

Remove the bay leaf, add the minced garlic and marjoram, stir, adjust the salt if needed, cover, and let it rest off the heat for 10 minutes.

Serve hot with bread dumplings or bread, garnished with onion rings.