Hungarian cabbage and tomato soup

This is one of my childhood favorites. Interestingly, when I made it for my husband he recognized it from his homecountry's quisine. In Macedonia they use less tomato sauce, but apart from that the soup is very similar. If you are not from Eastern Europe, the name might deter you. Don't let it. This is a very tasty soup served with a nice, crusty bread.

Ingredients
2 pounds cabbage
1 pound stew beef
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion
1 clove garlic
0.5 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp Piros Arany
2 tbsp ketchup
28 oz tomato sauce
56 oz water
3 tbsp starch
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Preparation
Saute the minced onions in the oil until translucent. Add the garlic for 30 seconds. Pull off the heat and add the paprika, Piros Arany and ketchup. Stir around and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the beef diced to 0.5-inch cubes, salt with about 1 tbsp of salt. Coat with the spices and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly browned.

Add enough water to cover. Add the bay leaves. Simmer for 60-90 minutes, until the beef is tender. Meanwhile, shred the cabbage.

When the meat is done, add the tomato sauce and the water, reserving about 0.5 cup water. Mix this water with the starch and set aside.

Add the cabbage and the black pepper to the soup and bring to a boil. Simmer until the cabbage is just slightly crunchy. Drizzle in the water and starch mixture and allow the soup to thicken a little, by bringing it just to a boil. Allow to cool a little and season with salt to taste.