Chicken Paprikash

This is one of those recipes that I've been meaning to write down for years because it's such a family classic! If I had to sum up Chicken Paprikash in just a few words, I'd say - Hungarian comfort food. My mom's family has been cooking big batches of this rich, rustic dish for family dinners since I can remember. My Aunt Rita is the keeper of the recipe I'd say. I cook it with her every chance I get when I'm visiting family! Each branch of the family tree puts their own little spin on it, and the recipe below is my contribution to the family recipe book. :)

For those of you who have never heard of Chicken Paprikash, it's basically chicken and dumplings in a sour cream and smoky paprika sauce made with sauteed onions, bacon, and tomatoes. The Galuska dumplings are doughy pillows of goodness. They're kind of like big hunks of pasta, a little firm. Basically - heaven. The paprika and bacon both give the dish an undeniable smoky flavor which is balanced by the tang of the sour cream. It's quite decadent, just like comfort food should be.

Now let's be honest - this dish isn't winning an beauty pageants. But take one bite, and you WILL NOT EVEN CARE because it's so delicious! It's rich, smoky, creamy, meaty, and satisfying. And don't be intimidated by the number of steps in this recipe! Each step is very easy, I promise!

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Chicken Paprikash

by Saucy Jocey's Kitchen June-7-2016

This Hungarian comfort food brings together chicken and Galuska dumplings in a sour cream and smoky paprika sauce made with sauteed onions, bacon, and tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 slices bacon
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bone-in chicken breasts
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 batches Galuska (http://www.saucyjoceyskitchen.com/2016/06/galuska.html)
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley and a little sprinkle of paprika for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Slice bacon into ¼ inch pieces. Chop onion and tomato.3. The first phase of cooking takes place on the stove top. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. (If you have a Dutch oven or some other pot with a lid that can be used both on the stove top and in the oven, that’s ideal. If not, use a deep saucepan or pot on the stovetop and a different oven-safe dish in the oven for the second phase of cooking.)4. Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and sprinkle salt and black pepper on both sides. Cook chicken in the bacon fat in the pot for 5 minutes on each side, just to get the outside golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pot.5. Sauté chopped onion and tomatoes in the bacon/chicken fat for 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent.6. Add paprika, water, and cooked bacon to the pot and stir. Return chicken to the pot skin side up.7. Cover and move the pot to the oven (if you need to, switch contents to an oven safe dish) to bake for 15 minutes. 8. Prepare Galuska while the dish is baking in the oven.9. After 15 minutes of baking, take the top off the pot and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the interior of the chicken breast reaches 165 degrees F.10. Pull the pot out of the oven and remove the chicken. Remove the meat from the bones and chop the meat in 1 – 2 inch chunks. Return meat to the pot. 11. Add sour cream to the pot and stir. Add Galuska and stir.12. Taste and add additional salt if desired. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and chopped parsley, and enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 1 hour 25 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins Yield: 5 servings

Note: Recipe inspired by "Paprika Chicken" in George Lang's "The Cuisine of Hungary"

Step 1 - 2: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice bacon into ¼ inch pieces. Chop onion and tomato.

Step 3: Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top until crispy, about 8 minutes. Aaaaall of those little brown bits on the bottom are going to infuse the bacon flavor in the whole dish! Yum!

Step 3 continued: Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. 

Step 4: Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and sprinkle salt and black pepper on both sides.

Step 4 continued: Cook one side of the chicken in the bacon fat in the pot for 5 minutes....

Step 4 continued: Then cook the other side for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot.

Step 5: Sauté chopped onion and tomatoes in the bacon/chicken fat for 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent. This is where those brown bits in the bottom of the pan from the bacon and the chicken come in! All of that smoky, meaty goodness gets absorbed into the onions and tomatoes.

Now for MORE smoky flavor! The paprika gives the dish such a deep flavor AND color.

Step 6: Add paprika, water, and cooked bacon to the pot and stir. Return chicken to the pot skin side up.

Step 7: Cover and move the pot to the oven (if you need to, switch contents to an oven safe dish) to bake for 15 minutes.

Step 8: Prepare Galuska while the dish is baking in the oven. Pictured here is 1/3 of a batch. You'll make 2 full batches!

Step 9: After 15 minutes of baking, take the top off the pot and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the interior of the chicken breast reaches 165 degrees F.

This is what it looks like when the baking is done!

Step 10: Pull the pot out of the oven and remove the chicken. Remove the meat from the bones and chop the meat in 1 – 2 inch chunks. Return meat to the pot.

Step 11: Add sour cream to the pot and stir. Look at that beautiful color!

Step 11 continued: Add Galuska and stir.

Step 12: Taste and add additional salt if desired, sprinkle with some paprika and chopped fresh parsley, and DIG IN! This dish will absolutely warm your soul. It's so creamy and meaty and smoky but the tang of the sour cream balances those flavors very nicely. And the Galuska is the PERFECT vehicle for all the saucy deliciousness. Enjoy!

Galuska

These doughy pillows of goodness are called Galuska, and they're little Hungarian dumplings. I think they're almost (if not exactly) the same thing as spaetzel, although the spaetzel I've had were smaller than these galuska. They're an essential component in my family's version of Chicken Paprikash, but I could eat a bowl of them just by themselves!

To me, they're almost like big, buttery hunks of pasta (which is just as phenomenal as it sounds). They're definitely firmer than all other dumplings I've had. The dough recipe is simple and although the method of hand-making them by taking a spoon to the dough seems like it would be time consuming, it really only takes about 5 minutes!

Does anyone have suggestions for other dishes I can use galuska in? I've only had them in Paprikash! Maybe they could be used in place of gnocchi in Italian dishes. I get the feeling they would be incredible in a dessert dish, like a bread-pudding-type thing but with galuska instead of bread? I'd love to hear your suggestions! And I'll so some experimenting and report back. :)

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Galuska

by Saucy Jocey's Kitchen June-8-2016

These Hungarian dumplings are buttery, doughy pillows of goodness.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour

Instructions

1. Use a fork to mix water, egg, salt, and 1 Tbsp softened butter in a bowl.2. Mix in flour with the fork until a rough dough ball forms, then use your hands to continue mixing and kneading until a smooth dough ball forms and there aren’t any dry flour pieces left.3. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, boil a large pot of water. Salt the water if you’d like (I usually do).4. Hold the ball of dough in one hand and a spoon in the other. Use the spoon to scrape a football-shaped chunk of the dough away against the base of your hand and repeat until the entire ball of dough is chunked. Each chunk should be about a tsp in size, but don’t worry if the sizes aren’t 100% uniform. Separate the chunked galuska on a plate as you go.5. Add 1/3 of the batch of galuska to the pot of boiling water. Stir a little if they’re sticking together. Boil the galuska until they float, about 3 minutes. Remove the galuska from the water with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl with 1 Tbsp of butter and stir. The other galuska will be added to the same bowl (but you won’t add more butter after each addition). Repeat step 5 until the whole batch is cooked. Enjoy!

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 2 - 3 servings

Note: Recipe adapted from "Egg Dumplings" in George Lang's "The Cuisine of Hungary"

Step 1: Use a fork to mix water, egg, salt, and 1 Tbsp softened butter in a bowl.

Step 1 continued

Step 2: Mix in flour with the fork. It will be pretty rough at first...

Step 2 continued: When it's a rough dough ball like this, use your hands to continue mixing and kneading together...

Step 2 continued: Mix and knead until you have a smooth(ish) dough ball with no dry flour pieces.

Step 3: Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.  In the meantime, boil a large pot of water. Salt the water if you’d like (I usually do).

Step 4: Now to form the galuska. Hold the ball of dough in one hand and a spoon in the other. Use the spoon to scrape a football-shaped chunk of the dough away against the base of your hand and repeat until the entire ball of dough is chunked. 

Step 4 continued: Each chunk should be about a tsp in size, but don’t worry if the sizes aren’t 100% uniform. 

Step 4 continued: Separate the chunked galuska on a plate as you go.

Step 5: Add 1/3 of the batch of galuska to the pot of boiling water. I like to add the galuska with a slotted spoon so I can delicately add them without getting splashed!

Step 5 continued: Stir a little if they’re sticking together.  

Step 5 continued: Boil the galuska until they float, about 3 minutes.

Step 5 continued: Remove the galuska from the water with a slotted spoon...

Step 5 continued: Place the galuska in a bowl with 1 Tbsp of butter and stir. The other galuska will be added to the same bowl (but you won’t add more butter after each addition). Repeat step 5 until the whole batch is cooked.

I love how rustic and simple these are. They're a wonderful blank canvas to slather saucy goodness all over! Because they're on the firmer side, they hold their shape and give nice texture to Chicken Paprikash, all while adding a rich buttery flavor. Enjoy!