Hungarian - Goulash Soup

Vegetarianism is growing rapidly in New Zealand, but other parts of the world have had meat-free cuisines for centuries. For a rich and varied plant-based diet, talk to Chinese, Indians, Mexicans… Our wonderful volunteers have shared authentic recipes from around the world. Most of these recipes were traditionally vegan, but some were meat-based recipes that have been ‘veganised’. We have collected 31 recipes from 31 different countries to share with you – one for each day of October, World Vegetarian Month.

Here is a recipe from Hungary. This recipe is a vegan version for Hungary’s national dish, Goulash. In its traditional Hungarian form, it’s a soup, a broth with vegetables and meat…lots of meat. In other countries though, goulash refers to a meat stew.

This is a very tasty soup, perfect for chilly days. Most Hungarians love Goulash and we have many different varieties, including bean goulash and fake goulash (this version is sometimes vegetarian, but most often not as bacon and lard are commonly used in ‘Hamis gulyás’).

One would think it is hard to veganise a soup that contains so much meat. But it is not the case. Mushrooms and marmite give a ‘meaty’ taste and even meat-eaters liked this recipe.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the kinds of peppers they use in Hungary but bell peppers or ‘king sweetie’ capsicum would do too.