Chicken Paprikash

This dish has Hungarian roots and there are probably as many variations in recipes as there are cooks who make it. I've combined recipes from Amada Hesser's The Essential New York Times Cookbook and Molly O'Neill's One Big Table. The result was remarkably tasty.

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH

 

Chicken Paprikash

(serves 4)

1. One 3-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
2. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3. 3 tablespoons olive oil
4. 1 cup thinly sliced onions
5. 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
6. 1/4 cup paprika (you can use sweet or a hot smoked paprika)
7. 1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
8. 1 cup sour cream
9. 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook over medium-high heat until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the pieces and continue cooking until browned on the second side.

Scatter the onions and garlic around the chicken pieces. Sprinkle with paprika and stir. Add the chicken broth, cover and let simmer until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken to a warm serving dish.

Blend the sour cream and flour and stir it into the sauce. Simmer, stirring for about 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

I chose to serve this over spaetzle, a German pasta dumpling that is absolutely delicious. I first tasted these when one of my professors in graduate school made them. I fell in love--with the dumplings, not the professor-- and ever since have had a spaetzle-maker as part of my batterie de cuisine.

Spaetzle Maker

Spaetzle

(6 servings)

1. 3 large eggs, beaten
2. 1 cup whole milk
3. 1/4 teaspoons salt
4. 2 cups all-purpose flour
5. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt

Place the flour in a large bowl and form a well in the center; pour in the egg mixture and stir with a  whisk until a smooth batter is formed.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Put the spaetzle-maker over the pot and place the batter in the spaetzle-maker. Move the container holding the batter back and forth over the pot of boilng water and cook the dumplings until they rise to the surface, about a minute. Make only as many as you can in 30 seconds so that they will cook evenly. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the dumplings to a platter and set aside. Continue until all the batter is cooked.

(You can use them at this point, as I did, as the base on which to serve the chicken. Or you can take the next step and serve them as a side dish to accompany a pot roast or some other similar dish. )

Place one tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the dumplings and cook,stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter and repeat with the remaining butter and dumplings. Serve immediately.

However you serve them, everyone will enjoy these feather-lite, pillowy bits of goodness.