Segedínský Guláš (Czech Szegedin Goulash)

Though its Czech name, Segedín, echoes the Hungarian paprika city of Szeged, the dish has no real link to it. Its Hungarian name, Székely-gulyás, comes instead from a person: József Székely, a Pest county archivist and writer. Legend has it that one night in 1846 he arrived at a Budapest tavern near closing, found only leftover goulash and sauerkraut in the kitchen, and had the cook combine them. During the Austro-Hungarian era the dish was wholeheartedly adopted by Czech and Slovak pubs, which swapped in pork and finished it with the sour cream that defines the local version. Today it ranks among the country's most cooked everyday meals.

Pork falls apart into a sauce gone tangy and golden from sauerkraut and paprika, the sour cream rounding every edge. It is bright and hearty at once, and a torn dumpling dragged through it carries the perfect balance of fat and acid.

Adding sauerkraut only in the final half hour keeps it from collapsing into mush and preserves its bright acidity. The sour cream both thickens and tames the tang, while paprika stirred in off the heat blooms without turning bitter.