Insufficiently cook goulash at first, being of little influence (8)
I believe the answer is:
underdog
'being of little influence' is the definition.
'underdog' can be an answer for 'being' (underdog is a kind of being). I am unsure of the 'of little influence' bit.
'insufficiently cook goulash at first' is the wordplay.
'insufficiently cook' becomes 'underdo'.
'at first' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'goulash' is 'g'.
'underdo'+'g'='UNDERDOG'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for underdog that I've seen before include "One of low status" , "Least favoured competitor" , "Unfancied performer" , "One at a disadvantage" , "Weaker contestant" .)