Rustic Sausage, Potato & Tomato Goulash

Recipe based on what I had around, plus creativity by ChatGPT, tweaked a fair bit for the real world.

Ingredients: 

1 lb small red potatoes, quartered
6–8 oz sausage, sliced or crumbled
2 slices bacon, cubed
1 medium white onion, sliced
1 small purple/red onion, sliced
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken broth, made from concentrate
2 T (or so) olive oil or butter
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh oregano or thyme
½ tsp black pepper
Salt, to taste
Some cheese for on top 

Instructions:

 1. Par-cook the potatoes.
Put the quartered potatoes in a large skillet with about ½ cup water and a pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until they're just becoming tender. Drain any remaining water.

2. Brown the sausage.
Add a little olive oil, bacon and sausage to the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until nicely browned. If you're using ham, add it during the last couple of minutes.

3. Get the onions really good.
Add the white and purple onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they're soft and beginning to caramelize.

3½. Before the onions are done, add the garlic to soften and begin to brown.

4. Add the potatoes and seasonings.
Add the potatoes, paprika, oregano or thyme, black pepper, and a little salt. Toss everything together and let it cook undisturbed for a couple of minutes at a time so the potatoes develop brown, crispy edges.

5. Add tomatoes.
Stir in the the chopped tomatoes. Cook for 3–4 minutes, letting them start breaking down.

6. Make it saucy.
Pour in ½ cup chicken broth. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let everything simmer uncovered for 7–10 minutes, until the broth and tomato juices reduce into a thick sauce. 

7. Serve with shredded cheese on top, and with toast beside.


Review:

○ Definitely a starting point. And it used the veggies I had on hand! I asked for hearty, and it qualifies for that. 

○ Definitely not amazing as is. Onions need to be cubed smaller. Spices need to be tweaked. Meat needs to be improved. Be careful not to over-cook sausage, bacon, onions or garlic. Not sure what to do with the tomatoes; not sure how much they add.

Options: 
•  Add eggs. Make two wells in the mixture and crack an egg into each. Cover the skillet and cook for 4–6 minutes, depending on how runny you like your yolks. Take it off the heat while the yolks are still slightly softer than you want; they'll continue cooking from the residual heat. 

• Replace the sausage with bite-size chunks of ham or steak: this really wants hearty meat in it; the little bit of sausage was inferior. And increase the bacon.

• Consider stirring a little thickening agent into the broth before adding it. (Maybe not when adding the eggs.)