Gúlás

Housemade Gúlás with potatoes

Gúlás (Anglish: Goulash) is a traditional savoury dish from Lanborg in Høvemark. The dish a famous piece of Lanborgian Cuisine, made of Høvemark Peppers, beef and normal bell peppers. Depending on the variant, boiled potato or rice is added. As the Goulash is mostly liquid, a piece of toasted Lanborgian long bread is added, sometimes with sour cream. The dish is eaten with a spoon, two forks (if bread is added) and a knife (if potatoes are added). Gúlás was historically eaten out of clay pots with a high serving temperature.

Today

Gúlás has been called out multiple times by food critics as one of the tastiest, yet simple dishes of the Commonwealth, as the intense flavour of the bell pepper broth goes well with the beef. They can be found in Lanborgian restaurants around the world, but are even more common in Lanborg. As Lanborgians enjoy alcohol, rarely a small amount of alcohol is added.

Lore

Gúlás finds its roots in rural Høvemark (then named Lanborg Empire) and dates back to -250Ð. Back then, cabbage was added to beef broth and the dish was very popular among farmers without making its way into the bustling capitol of the Lanborg Empire. According to legends, this recipe was to get small children to eat cabbage without tasting them, as the strong flavour of the broth overplays the notes of the cabbage. Over time, the recipe was changed to needs and at approximately -175Ð Gúlás was known as a dish with cabbage, carrots, onions and tomatoes. The dish was now connected to education and school food, to the dislike of many farmers. When at -136Ð a merchant from northern civilisations (Thorildhøj today) came to visit the Lanborg Empire, he was pleasantly surprised by the food, as in the northern lands of Thorildhøj, only berries and apples are able to grow. He reported the food in his newspaper, gaining the kings attention. After the King of Lanborg tried the dish, he saw potential to make it a symbol of cultural pride, not a symbol standardized school meals. He hired multiple chefs to "come up with the best dish possible" while still being reminiscent of old Gúlás. His chefs came up with the modern Gúlás, a savoury beef stew made of broth, Høvemark peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and bell peppers. After the dish had been modified, it got accessible by the general public and since then is an important piece of Lanborgian cuisine and culture.
During the War of Dignity, when Kalkdui soldiers were held captive, some of them had spices unknown to Lanborgians, which we today know of as pepper. This spice was added into almost every food at the time, and Gúlás was no exception. When eventually the rush for pepper ended, the people still enjoyed their Gúlás with pepper, so it never got removed unlike from other dishes.