Pork goulash

So, my older son had just returned from a week in NYC, and I wanted to cook something nice for his first dinner back home. It was a week since I'd been to the supermarket, and this week's planning didn't really happen. So I was scrabbling around the kitchen cupboards, fridge and freezer to see what I could find. This goulash was the result. And a rather good one, if I say so myself.

One pork fillet (about 500g) - hastily defrosted in the microwave then sliced about 1 cm thick and each slice quartered
half fat creme fraiche (about 200g)
one large-ish onion, sliced
one scant tbsp oil
one red pepper, seeded, chopped
one carton chopped tomatoes
one tbsp smoked paprika - VITAL
one vegetable OXO cube
salt
pepper
mushrooms (170g) sliced
rice to serve
veg to serve (I did courgettes)

Boil the kettle for the rice and then get the rice going. (I'll talk about rice more in a future post)
Slice the onion, soften in the oil for a few mins, then fling in the red pepper and garlic. Stir for a couple of mins, then put in the paprika. Add the pork fillet and the tomatoes, and crumble in the stock cube and a generous amount of black pepper. Add the mushrooms, and give it a good stir. Put the lid on the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer for 25 mins. (You'll want to turn the heat off under the rice about 10 mins into the 25 mins, unless you like your rice with a crispy bottom).
Cook the courgettes (I'll talk about courgettes in the future too) and add the creme fraiche to the goulash pan. Simmer with the lid off for 10 mins (until the sauce has reduced slightly and the courgettes are done).

Eat!