Goulash with Knödel (Bread Dumplings)

Café Landtmann is one of Vienna's great cultural landmarks.

The famous coffeehouse is perfectly at home just off the Ringstrasse, the immaculate tram-lined boulevard of parks, museums and mansions. The Landtmann is hard to miss. It occupies the entire ground floor of the Palais Lieben-Auspitz opposite the Rathauspark, a huge silver awning stretched out across the front square above which big white letters proudly spell out the café's name. Come inside, it beckons, and have coffee where Sigmund Freud, Emmerich Kálmán, Gustav Mahler and many other Viennese icons whiled away their afternoons.

Walking into the Landtmann feels like stepping back in time. Velvet seats blend seamlessly with art nouveau chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling wall panels. Waiters in shiny black waistcoats and bowties attend to customers among the many timeless rooms. The scent of roasted coffee, sweet pastries and old newspapers lingers in the air. This is an homage to Vienna, and Europe, of a bygone era.

"Nowhere was it easier to be a European," wrote Stefan Zweig, the great Austrian novelist and personal friend of Freud, about Vienna at the fin de siècle.

A true hub of modern art, pioneering ideas in politics, medicine and cutting edge science, Vienna lays a strong claim to be Europe's first multicultural city. People from across the Austro-Hungarian empire and elsewhere came to Vienna in the second half of the 19th century, drawn to the economic and cultural fortunes that were made possible from new liberal laws.

This was also true for Jews. For what Freud, Kálmán, Mahler and Zweig also had in common is they were part of the great Jewish community of Vienna of the time. At one point Jews made up 10 per cent of the city's population - as well as over half of its bankers, lawyers and doctors. This also included my great-grandfather and other ancestors who came to Vienna from the modern-day Czech Republic.

A vibrant and previously unseen Jewish bourgeoisie had established itself. They also left their mark in incredible ways. From the modern psychoanalysis theories pioneered by Freud, to the opulent Palais Ephrussi and other Ringstrasse mansions built by wealthy Jewish financiers and industrialists, as well as the subjects of Gustav Klimt's symbolist canvasses - the greatest example being Adele Bloch-Bauer as the magnificent Lady in Gold, which sold in 2006 for a record $130 million. Whilst the Jewish population of Vienna would later be cruelly wiped out their legacy endures - as does that of Vienna itself.

When in Vienna, make sure to have lunch at Café Landtmann and enjoy a hearty bowl of beef goulash served with serviettenknödel. And of course finish with one of their many delicious pastries and cakes - choose from homemade buttercroissants, Nussbeugerl, marzipan orbs, Mozarttorte, Esterhazytorte and Landtmann’s fine torte. You can roll yourself home afterwards!

Ingredients (4 people)

For the goulash:

1kg chuck steak (cut into cubes)

2 onions (diced)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

2 tbs paprika

1 tbs caraway seeds

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbs white sugar

2 bay leaves

1 tbs tomato paste

1 tbs red wine vinegar

500ml chicken broth

50g butter

Salt

Pepper

For the knödel:

500g stale white bread

300ml milk

0.5 onions (thinly diced)

0.5 tsp nutmeg

50g butter

2 eggs (beaten)

Salt

Pepper

Handful of fresh parsley (chopped)

Handful of fresh chives (chopped)

Preparation (cooking time: 4 hours)

1. Prepare the goulash. Season the beef with salt and pepper. In a saucepan on high heat, melt some butter and sear the beef on all sides. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside for later (in a bowl to collect the juices).

2. Turn the heat down to medium. In the same pan, melt some more butter and sauté the onions until soft (10min). Add the garlic, sugar, caraway seeds and marjoram and stir well. Next add the paprika, tomato paste, red wine vinegar and 250ml chicken stock. Let contents reduce for 15min.

3. Add the rest of the chicken stock. Put all the contents in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the sauce back to the pan and turn heat to low. Add the beef and the bay leaves. Leave to simmer covered for 2 hours so the meat gets nice and tender. Then simmer uncovered for 1 hour so the sauce darkens and reduces by about half. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

5. While the goulash is cooking, prepare the knödel. The bread will need to be stale so make sure to buy a couple of days ahead and leave out if necessary.

6. Remove the bread crusts and cut into cubes. Heat the milk in a saucepan until steaming but not boiling. Pour the milk over the bread and leave covered for 30min.

7. Melt some butter in a pan on medium heat and gently fry the onions until translucent but not brown. Add the onions, eggs, chopped parsley, chives and nutmeg to the bread and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Knead all the ingredients together until it forms a thick ball of dough. With your hands take out handfuls of the dough and shape into small balls (aim for the size of golfballs). Leave to rest for 5min.

8. Bring a pot of salted water to slow simmer. Steep the knödel for 15min being careful not to let the water boil or risk breaking up the dumplings. Serve hot with a garnish of fresh chives!

TIP 1: For best results leave overnight in the fridge after Step 3.

TIP 2: When preparing the knödel add breadcrumbs if the mixture is too wet (not flour). Add more milk if too dry.