Chicken Paprikash

It was THE DISH:  the one my grandmother made for company, for my mother’s birthday, and to send to someone’s house when there was a death.  Only she called it “chicken in red sauce”…so that’s how it’s been labeled in my recipe box all my life.

Then one day I made it for someone and she said “I love Chicken Paprikash.”  I said good, but tonight we’re having chicken in red sauce.  She said “no Christine, this IS Chicken Paprikash.”  Whaaaaaaaat?? Who knew??

She’s right…it is.  A Hungarian dish rich with sour cream, tomato sauce, and wine usually served over egg noodles or with mashed potatoes to catch all the goodness.  Or, you know, you can just eat the sauce with a spoon right from the pot when no one’s looking.  Don’t judge…  😊

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(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

Serves 4

1 fryer chicken, cut in 8 pieces

2  15-ounce cans tomato sauce

1  16-ounce container sour cream

1 tomato can full of dry white wine

1 large white or Spanish onion, cut in rings

¾ cup dry red wine for deglazing the pan

Chicken broth

3 tablespoons butter

Olive oil

Salt/ fresh ground pepper/garlic powder

Hungarian paprika

A large pot or dutch oven that can go from stove top, to oven, to table

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Make sauce and set aside:

In bowl, mix both cans tomato sauce and sour cream.  Fill one of the tomato sauce cans almost full with white wine and add to tomato mixture.  Mix all.  Set aside.

Season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Drizzle olive oil in large pot over med high heat and brown chicken on both sides in batches of 4, remove to plate.

browned, but not cooked through

Melt butter in pan and sauté onion until just brown (do not caramelize), this should take just a few minutes. Remove from pan and place on top of chicken on platter.

Pour ¾ cup red wine and ¾ cup chicken broth in the pan to deglaze, scraping up brown bits.  Add chicken and onions back to pan with juices on plate, and pour tomato sauce over the top.  Sprinkle pepper and paprika over the top. The sauce will be pink:

ready for the oven

Bake chicken uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover for 45 minutes.  Uncover for the last 10 minutes.  65 minutes of cooking total

When you take it out, it will be bubbling and bright orange,and should be falling off the bone 

I serve mine with mashed potatoes and peas...see? Mmmmmmm...