Several months ago, before the pandemic hit, I had the pleasure of visiting my Tanté Elizabeth and we spent the day cooking together. This is her family recipe for Hungarian Chicken Paprikash, (Paprikás Csirke) and it’s absolutely delicious! Her recipe is very similar to my mothers but sadly I have not been able to find my mother’s recipe. My mother made this often when I was growing up so she probably didn’t need the recipe to make it. I’m sure she knew how to make it like the back of her hand.
I would venture to guess that there are probably as many variations to this classic Hungarian dish as there are Hungarians. It seems like each recipe varies to suit the tastes of each family. Some recipes include green peppers, some add tomatoes, some add sour cream, some don’t; but the one constant in all of these recipes is the liberal use of paprika. Oh, and chicken of course! It just wouldn’t be Chicken Paprikash without chicken and lots of paprika…LOL.
This recipe uses simple basic ingredients and it’s very, very easy to make. If you don’t have the time to keep an eye on a pot simmering on the stove, it can just as easily be cooked in your slow cooker.
In a large stockpot melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onion and sweat the onions until translucent.
Sweating in cooking is the gentle heating of vegetables in a little oil or butter, with frequent stirring and turning to ensure that any emitted liquid will evaporate. … Sweating is often a preliminary step to further cooking in liquid; onions, in particular, are often sweated before including in a stew.
Wikipedia
Add diced red bell pepper.
Cook for a few minutes until red peppers begin to soften.
Add salt and paprika.
Stir until onions and peppers are coated with the paprika. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. This is what is referred to as “blooming” the spices. Frying them in fat enhances their flavors.
Add chicken thighs to the onion/pepper mixture. Stir to mix well.
Sauté for a few minutes to get the chicken cooking.
Add bay leaf and just enough water to cover the chicken. I used a can of chicken broth to give the broth a richer flavor, but authentic recipes call for using water not chicken broth.
Bring to a boil and stir to combine everything.
Slow Cooker Option: You can transfer the ingredients to your slow cooker at this point and finish cooking on low for 6-8 hours, until chicken is tender.
Cover pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer on the stove for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until chicken is cooked through and falling apart tender.
In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream with the flour until smooth and there are no lumps.
Add about a 1/2 cup of the hot broth to the flour and sour cream and blend together. This is what is referred to as tempering.
Tempering means to bring two liquids that you plan to blend together to a similar temperature before you combine them completely. Heating the sour cream/flour slurry will prevent it from curdling when added to the hot liquid in the pot.
Add the flour/sour cream slurry to the pot and stir well.
Increase the heat to a good simmer and cook until the sauce thickens and is heated through.
Slow Cooker Option: Add sour cream/flour to sauce in the slow cooker. Turn heat to high, cover and cook for 30-45 additional minutes or until sauce thickens.
Serve chicken pieces over spätzle or noodles of your choice. Be sure to top your dish with lots of the delicious sauce!
Give this timeless Hungarian classic a try. This meal is real comfort food for me. My family shared this meal at the table many times when I was growing up. Not only is it extremely easy to make, it uses simple ingredients, it’s an inexpensive meal, and its absolutely delicious!
Timeless classics have been around for generations, and for good reason. Everybody loves them! I guarantee…you will be licking your plate clean!!!
Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 6 skinless chicken thighs
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1 Bay leaf
- water
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup flour
Instructions
- In a large stockpot melt butter over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until translucent.
- Add red bell pepper and continue to cook until it starts to soften.
- Add salt and paprika and stir to mix well.
- Add chicken to the pot and stir to coat with the onion/pepper mixture.
- Add bay leaf and enough water to cover the chicken.
- Bring water to a boil and stir to combine everything.
- Cover pot and reduce heat too low. Simmer on the stove for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until chicken is cooked through and tender.
- In a small bowl, combine sour cream with flour until there are no lumps. Add about a 1/2 cup of the hot broth to the flour and sour cream and blend together.
- Add the flour/sour cream slurry to the pot and stir well. Increase the heat to a good simmer and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Serve with spätzle or noodles.
Did You Make This?
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not truly hungarian as the paprika is not what is tradtionally used. You would need a hungarian Paprika not a spanish one to get the truly authentic flavor.
Using authentic Hungarian paprika would be my first choice, but it it hard to come by here in the states.