HUNGARIAN CHICKEN PAPRIKASH - Chicken Paprika

Chicken Paprika or Paprikash is a classic Hungarian comfort food. My children loved this dish when they were growing up. I used only boneless chicken breasts, and still do. If you have chicken breasts or thighs, (boneless or bone-in) paprika, and sour cream or Greek yogurt; you can easily make this dish.

You can serve this over wide egg noodles (the way I served it years ago) or buy spaetzle or make spaetzle (pronounced shpetz luh) yourself. The recipe follows. Make the spaetzle first; cover and keep warm in the oven.

Lee's Kitchen Tips:
If you don't have a spaetzle maker (hopper), roll small balls of dough into a narrow rope and cut them into ¼ inch slices.

Spaetzle

2 cups all-purpose flour                                            

1 t sea salt  

¼ t ground nutmeg                                                           

2 large eggs                                                      

¼ cup milk

2 T unsalted butter, melted

Additional butter

In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, salt, and nutmeg.  

In a small bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and butter.

Whisk egg mixture into flour mixture.  

Set aside and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.  

Place spaetzle maker (hopper) over a large pot of boiling salted water. 

Fill the hopper with batter, and then move hopper back and forth over the grate, allowing dumplings to fall into the boiling water. 

Cook until dumplings float, 1-2 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to a baking dish.  Repeat process until all the batter has been used. 

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. 

Gently toss dumplings with additional butter in the baking dish, cover, and keep warm until ready to serve.

Chicken Paprikash

¾ cup all-purpose flour                                                    

3 T sweet or hot Hungarian paprika, divided
½ t ground ginger

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper                                                                              

2 T avocado oil                              

4 boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in half, lengthwise

2 T unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely diced.

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T tomato paste

2 cups chicken broth

1 T unsalted butter

1 cup sour cream or full-fat plain Greek yogurt, divided

Minced parsley, for garnish                                       

Mix together the flour, paprika, and ginger in a flat bowl. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. 

Dredge chicken in flour mixture and brown in skillet on both sides.

Reduce heat and add butter.

Add diced onion and garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes.

Mix together Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and chicken broth. 

Pour over chicken, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove chicken to a platter.

Raise heat and add the 1 tablespoon of butter to skillet and gently boil to thicken sauce slightly.

Reduce heat and add about ½ cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt to pan and stir to combine. 

Return chicken to pan, cover and heat through for a couple of minutes.

Arrange chicken on plates and spoon sauce over and around it. 

Serve with spaetzle and sour cream or Greek yogurt on the side.

Serves 4