Chicken Paprikash is about as Hungarian as a dish can be. Don’t skimp on the ingredients and don’t forget the pepper and tomato. This is my go to dish when I crave comfort food. Great with Spaetzle.
Tip : Try a combination of skinless, boneless chicken thighs, drum sticks and chicken tenders, or chicken breast. The thighs and drum sticks are tender and do not dry out, The chicken should release enough juices so that there is no need to add water, however, if it looks dry, add 1/4 cup of water to start, then add more if it still looks dry.
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breasts -- boned and skinned
- 1 chicken thigh
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 small banana pepper
- 1 medium tomato cut in 6-8 wedges
- 2 tbsp olive oil or lard
- 2 tbsp Hungarian paprika
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup 35% sour cream
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting recipe.
- Heat oil in sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Slice chicken breast in 2 inch strips.
- Bone and slice chicken thigh in 1 - 1/2" inch strips.
- Peel and dice onion and cut tomato in wedges.
- Add tomato, onion and hot banana pepper to oil and sauté until the onions become translucent.
- Take pan off heat and stir in paprika until well blended.
- Return pan to heat and add chicken pieces, salt to taste.
- Bring to a fast simmer, then reduce heat, cover pan and allow to simmer slowly until the chicken is done, about 25-30 minutes. Note that the chicken should let out juices but if it looks dry, add a quarter cup of water to bring up level to just below the chicken.
Sauce preparation
- Remove cooked chicken to a platter and cover to keep warm.
- Strain pan juices into a fine sieve over a bowl and using a wooden spoon, stir the sieved contents until most of the solids have passed through the sieve.
- Return sieved pan juices to the sauté pan and stir in sour cream with a wire whip until the sauce is smooth. Return chicken to the sauté pan and reheat over low heat when ready to serve. Do not boil sauce once the sour cream has been added.
Author Notes
I like to serve this with Spaetzle and a side cucumber salad with a sour cream vinaigrette. Just the way it was always served at home.