Chicken Paprikas

Posted On June 4, 2020

I was so excited when I was living up in Lakewood Ranch, FL and they opened a new restaurant in the area that promised to provide “Cleveland Style” food. I was excited to go in and try some of their food. Something that sounded awesome to me was pierogie bathed in chicken paprikash gravy. They brought out the dish and I took a bite and wondered..”what in the world is this?” The chicken paprikash tasted nothing like what my mom, grandmother, aunts, etc. prepared for us growing up. Generally, it’s a Hungarian dish with a creamy sour cream based sauce. Perhaps my relatives changed it up a little? In either case, I find this recipe much more appealing than a couple of other restaurants we have tried along the way. I hope you enjoy it!

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5 from 1 vote

Chicken Paprikas (Csirkepaprika)

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Hungarian, Slavic, Slovak

Keyword: Chicken, Creamy, Dumplings, Paprikash, Savory

Servings:

Calories: 452kcal

Cost: $15

Equipment

Dutch Oven or Large Pot
Large Mixing Bowl
Collander/Strainer

Ingredients

3 or 4 Chicken Thighs (you can also use chicken breasts) Bone in adds more flavor
2 medium Onions
1/2 small Red bell pepper (orange, yellow or green are okay) Chop the pepper finely
1 small Roma Tomato, diced finely
4 oz Sour Cream
4 tbsp Paprika
2 cloves Garlic (Minced/Grated)
2 teaspoons Vegeta
3 cups Water
4 Whole Bay Leaves
1 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Salt (add more to your taste if needed)
4 tbsp Flour (For thickening)
8 tbsp Water (to create slurry with 4 tbsp flour)

For Dumplings

4 large Eggs
4 cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 cup Water
1 pot Boiling Water

Instructions

Sauce

Grate either 2 medium or 1 large onion into a dutch oven or large pot.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to start sauteeing the onions.
Add 2 minced or grated cloves of garlic.
Add chopped tomatoes and chopped red peppers
Sautee the vegetables until softened and onions are translucent. NOTE: I do add a bayleaf into the veggies while they are cooking. Be sure to keep an eye on these so they do not scorch or burn.
Add 3 or 4 large chicken thighs (or chicken breasts if you prefer) and sautee with the onions and garlic.
Once you add the chicken, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of paprika evenly over the chicken.
Cover the pot and let the chicken cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. It should start producing it's own juice but keep an eye on it so nothing scorches or burns. Cook on a medium heat.
After about 15 minutes, add in 1 cup of water and cover back up and cook again for about 20 more minutes. Check periodically and make sure the chicken is producing it's own juices.
After 20 minutes, turn the chicken to the other side. Place 1 bay leaf on each piece of chicken.
After 15 more minutes, go ahead and pull out the chicken and set aside. Place in the fridge to cool the chicken if you desire to de-bone the thighs. You can also leave the bone in as well.
Add 2 teaspoons of Vegeta (or chicken bouillon) to the remaining broth in the pan.
Add 2 more cups of water to the pot. Bring the broth back up to a rolling boil. Taste your broth and see if you need to add salt and/or pepper at this time. If so, add here.
NOTE: If your broth is too salty at this point, add a bit more water.

TEMPERING THE THICKENING AGENTS

In a small bowl, add 4 ounces of sour cream. Stir the sour cream to soften it.
One ladle at a time, add the broth mixture to your sour cream, whisking until smooth. (two ladles max should be fine).
Make sure the sour cream mixture is completely smooth.
Once the sour cream mixture is easily pourable and tempered by the hot broth, pour it slowly back into the broth in the pan while the broth is still simmering. Whisk as you are pouring the sour cream back into the pot to keep it smooth.
At this point, find the bay leaves and fish them out and discard.
Take four tablespoons of flour and mix with about 8 tablespoons of water to create a slurry that is pourable.
Whisk that into the broth and keep stirring while boiling as it will begin to thicken.
Turn the broth down to low and continue to cook.
DONT FORGET YOU HAVE YOUR CHICKEN IN THE FRIDGE. Go ahead and grab the chicken and de-bone it if you wish and add the chicken back into the broth. Let that cook on low until you are ready to serve.

Home Made Dumplings

In a large pot, add water 3/4 full and bring to a boil. Lightly salt the water .
In a large mixing bowl, blend the flour, eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in your mixing bowl until it forms the consistency of a biscuit dough.
Slowly add 1/4 cup of warm water and mix, adding more water a little at a time until the dough becomes a batter and reaches a consistency of a thick pancake batter.
Once you have the consistency you need, take a teaspoon or tablespoon and start scooping the batter a little at a time into the boiling water. Try to get all of your batter out of the bowl if possible and let it boil for about 5 minutes or so. Make sure to stir frequently to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Your dumplings should float to the top.
NOTE: If you can invest in a spaetzle maker and a spider scooper, DO IT. It makes this process much easier. They normally are available as a set on Amazon.
Once your dumplings are done, go ahead and strain in a collander and put back into the pot or a large bowl or container to serve.

Serving the Chicken Paprikash

In a bowl, add some dumplings.
Pour the sauce over the dumplings
Grab some pieces of chicken and lay on top of the dumplings
Salt and Pepper to taste!
Jó étvágyat

Nutrition