Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings

6-8 servings

This recipe comes from a friend of a friend who was the executive chef at the Glenn Restaurant in Cleveland. It has wonderful flavor. Sadly the restaurant is now closed. Originally the Paprikash is made with any meat, and more…pork, veal, beef, lamb…even mushrooms and potato. Recipe is the same, only the quantity of the water added is less for the young meat. The ready Paprikash should be served with dumplings, spatzel, mashed potatoes or rice. Apparently only the chicken Paprikash should be served with sour cream on top.

Here is a bit of info on the Varieties of the paprika:

Special quality (Különleges) – this is the mildest of all paprika and has the most vibrant red color

Delicate (csemege)-mild paprika with rich flavor,

Exquisite delicate (csemege paprika) -slightly more pungent than the Delicate,

Pungent Exquisite delicate (csipos csemege), even more pungent

Noble sweet (édesnemes) – the most common type, slightly pungent with bright red color,

Half-sweet (félédes) – a medium-pungent paprika

Rose (rózsa) – light red color, mildly pungent

Hot – the hottest of all paprikas, light brown-orange color

And now, on the to main feature!

10 qt. stew pot, large bowl, 2 qt. saucepan, medium bowl, 2 qt. glass casserole dish

Chicken & Sauce:

5 lbs. of cut up frying or broiling with bones

2 medium yellow onions, diced

1 green pepper, diced

Hungarian paprika

4 tablespoons butter

Salt, to taste

black pepper, to taste

cayenne pepper, again to taste

chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

1 1/4 c. sour cream

chicken broth

Dumplings:

2 cups flour

salt

Hungarian paprika

3 eggs

water

Wash the chicken pieces. Cover the bottom of the stew pot with oil. Rub both sides of the chicken pieces with paprika and quick-brown them in the bottom of the stew pot. Remove the browned chicken to the large bowl. Sauté the 2 onions in the remaining oil, then add the green pepper. Add to that 1 Tablespoon paprika, a dash of salt, and a dash each of black and red pepper to taste. Put the chicken, 1 cup chicken broth, and all juices back into the pot, and mix everything together. Add in 1/3 cup chopped parsley, and black pepper and paprika to taste. Cover the pot and cook the chicken for 2 hours. Remove the chicken, leaving behind the juices and vegetables, and keep the chicken in a casserole dish in a warm oven. Leave the stew pot over a low flame.

Add the sour cream or and some chicken stock mixed with ½ cup flour (1/2 c.) to the juices in the stew pot, and stir well. Wisk until the sauce is completely smooth. Put the chicken back into the pot and spoon the sauce up to cover the chicken. Simmer over low heat while you make the dumplings.

Fill the sauce pan 3/4 of the way with half water and chicken stock, and bring to a boil adding ¼ teaspoon salt. In the small bowl, combine flour, a dash each of salt and paprika (enough to add color), eggs, and water, a bit at a time, until the dough is gluey. Then using a common teaspoon spoon the dough out into the boiling water, 6 or 8 dumplings at a time. They will rise to the surface when done. As you take them out and drain them in a slotted spoon, add them to the chicken, and stir them in so that they are covered with the sauce.

Serve immediately with a side of sour cream dilled thinly sliced red onions and cucumbers, warm crusty Italian or French bread with butter.

Serving Suggestion