Chicken Paprikash (Paprikas Csirke) with Spaetzle-

Prep Time: 30 minutes - 1 hour | Cook Time: 1 - 2 hours | Serves: 4

Visual Recipe By: Melissa Fehr | http://visualrecipes.com/recipe-details/recipe_id/270/Chicken-Paprikash-(Paprikas-Csirke)-with-Spaetzle/

changes are in red by me. :-)

Ingredients:

One important note on paprika - it is absolutely necessary that you use good, sweet Hungarian paprika for this. You use a lot of it and the quality of the paprika is essential to the end result - you cannot use any old McCormick's stuff and expect this to taste good. You CAN use Fancy Paprika from McCormick's, but you will have to order it from spiceplace.com or go outside and discover your closest Eastern European grocer. There you will find the tastiest paprika known to mankind, and now you're ready to begin. Or you can go to Budapest and just grab some there.

Feel free to make these recipes side-by-side (they work great if you've got someone else to tagteam with) or make the paprikash and then start the spaetzle.

Chicken Paprikash (Paprikas Csirke)

3.5-4.5 pounds chicken parts (you definitely want something on the bone. We usually grab a package of legs & thighs at the supermarket)
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups try just 1/4 - 1/2 a cup of yellow very thinly sliced onions
1/4 actually double the sauce ingredients to have a lot of gravy, so, 1/2 cup sweet Hungarian paprika (see note above)
2 (4) Tbsp all-purpose flour
1.5 (2-3) cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large bay leaf OMIT
1-1.5 cup creme fraiche (use sour cream if creme fraiche not avail. Also, any Greek-style plain yogurt tastes just like sour cream, but can be fat free)
salt & pepper

Step 1:

(some ingredients are not shown in picture)

Step 2:

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Season generously with salt & ground black pepper.

In a wide heavy skillet (you'll need some high sides, so I've had to make a compromise with the pots available to me) heat the butter over a medium high heat. Add as many pieces of chicken to the skillets as will fit without crowding and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.

Step 3:

Here they are after 5 minutes, golden delicious.

Step 4:

Remove the chicken to a plate and if you've got any remaining chicken, brown those in the same manner.
Rest, little chickens, we're not done with you yet!

Step 5:

Add the onions to the remaining fat in the skillet.

Step 6:

Reduce the heat slightly. Cook, stirring often, until the onions just begin to color (about 10 minutes). Sprinkle the paprika and flour over the onions.

Step 7:

Cook, stirring continuously, for one minute, until it looks like this:

Step 8:

Add in the chicken stock, garlic and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. Return the chicken with all accumulated juices to the pan.

Reduce he heat so that the liquid barely bubbles. Cover the pan and cook, turning the chicken once or twice, until the dark meat pieces release clear juice when pricked with a fork (20-30 minutes).

Step 9:

Remove the chicken to a new clean plate and pick out the bay leaf and toss it away.

Step 10:

Let the sauce settle, then skim the fat off the surface with a spoon. Boil the sauce over high heat until very thick and almost pasty. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the creme fraiche.

Step 11:

Return the sauce to high heat and boil until thickened again. return the chicken to the pan and heat thoroughly.

Step 12:

Serve over hot cooked noodles or spaetzle....

Spaetzle OR you can just use whole wheat spiral noodles from Trader Joe's (or favorite)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

In a large bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, flour, and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.

Step 13:

Very gradually add the flour to the wet mixture, making sure the last bit is fully smooth before adding any more flour, until all the flour has been added. The dough should be smooth and thick (a bit thicker than American pancake batter - a LOT thicker than British pancake batter). Feel free to use a hand mixer to help it along.

Step 14:

It should end up like this when you tilt the bowl:

Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Step 15:

Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in the largest (widest) pot you can find.

Step 16:

To form the spaetzle, hold a large colander or slotted spoon over the water and push the dough through the holes with a wooden spoon.

Step 17:

Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until they float to the surface.

Step 18:

Do this in batches so you don't crowd the pot (a slotted spoon is great for fishing the spaetzle out of the water).

Dump the spaetzle in a colander and give it a quick rinse with cold water.

Step 19:

Pile a portion of spaetzle on each plate and top with chicken and paprikash sauce.

Jó étvágyat!

Chewy Flour Tortillas

I got this from http://www.texascooking.com/features/sept98flourtortillas.htm today. Super yummy, super easy. I didn't even separate them out to rest for 20 minutes because I was working one-handed at first. :-)


Chewy Flour Tortillas

These tortillas have real body and taste; they are perfect for gorditas, fajitas and eating out of hand.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk (2% is fine)

Stir together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and vegetable oil to the lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add the milk to the flour, and work the mixture into a dough. It will be sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with flour and knead vigorously for about 2 minutes (fold and press, fold and press). The kneading will take care of the stickiness. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for 15 minutes. (This dough will not rise, but it needs a rest.)

Divide your dough into 8 balls of equal size, cover them, and let them rest again for about 20 minutes. Avoid letting them touch, if you don't want them to stick together.

Dust your work surface with flour. Working one at a time, remove each piece of dough and pat it into a 5-inch circle. With a rolling pin, roll out the tortilla, working from the center out, until you have a 7- or 8-inch tortilla a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet or griddle. It will begin to blister. Let it cook for 30 seconds, turn it, and let the other side cook for 30 seconds. Remove the tortilla, place it in a napkin-lined basket and cover with aluminum foil. Repeat for the remaining tortillas.