VISITING
AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE
OCTOBER
2011
Classic
Dish Starts With Paprika
Paprikás
Csirke
Forwarded
From UGH
Paprika is everywhere in German Hungarian cuisine, but it takes a
starring role in chicken paprikas (sometimes spelled paprikash).
The dish, which began as a frugal family meal for farmers and townsfolk
in Hungary, can now be found on the menu of most Hungarian restaurants.
The dish, which began as a frugal family meal for farmers and townsfolk
in Hungary, can now be found on the menu of most Hungarian restaurants.
It's also made by many members of the United German Hungarians, who use
recipes passed down in their families.
Marlene Fricker and her sister-in-law, Lisa Fricker, who live in the
same Horsham neighborhood, recently demonstrated how to make the dish.
The recipe they used, one of three versions in the United German
Hungarians cookbook, was left by Susie Welch, a member of the club and
its main cook for two decades before her she passed away about 20 years
ago.
Marlene Fricker and her sister-in-law, Lisa Fricker, who live in the
same Horsham neighborhood, recently demonstrated how to make the dish.
The recipe they used, one of three versions in the United German
Hungarians cookbook, was left by Susie Welch, a member of the club and
its main cook for two decades before her she passed away about 20 years
ago.
Marlene Fricker and her sister-in-law, Lisa Fricker, who live in the
same Horsham neighborhood, recently demonstrated how to make the dish.
The recipe they used, one of three versions in the United German
Hungarians cookbook, was left by Susie Welch, a member of the club and
its main cook for two decades before her she passed away about 20 years
ago.
Marlene Fricker and her sister-in-law, Lisa Fricker, who live in the
same Horsham neighborhood, recently demonstrated how to make the dish.
The recipe they used, one of three versions in the United German
Hungarians cookbook, was left by Susie Welch, a member of the club and
its main cook for two decades before her she passed away about 20 years
ago.
Marlene Fricker and her sister-in-law, Lisa Fricker, who live in the
same Horsham neighborhood, recently demonstrated how to make the dish.
The recipe they used, one of three versions in the United German
Hungarians cookbook, was left by Susie Welch, a member of the club and
its main cook for two decades before her she passed away about 20 years
ago.
Marlene made a few changes, substituting vegetable oil for the
shortening in the original recipe and using chicken thighs instead of a
whole chicken.
"Because it's a stew and you'll be cooking it a long time, white
meat doesn't do that well," Marlene says.
But she didn't mess with the key parts - the paprika and the onions.
Szeged sweet Hungarian paprika, available in most supermarkets, is
"the paprika of choice," Marlene says, unless you've recently
brought back a stash of the stuff from Hungary.
If you're worried that 3 tablespoons might be too much, you can start
with less, then add more later to taste.
But don't skimp on the onions.
"One of the secrets to a good paprikas or a good goulash is to use
enough onions. That's what makes the body of the gravy," Marlene
says.
"The basic idea is to get the onions as soft as you can, slightly
yellow, and then you can add the rest of the ingredients."
Welsh's recipe called for simmering the chicken in a mixture of tomatoes
and water. Some later recipes substitute chicken broth for the water,
but Marlene still makes chicken paprikas the traditional way.
"If you lived on a farm, you didn't have chicken broth to make a
stew," she says. "It's a matter of economics."
Maybe for the same reason, Marlene didn't add sour cream to the sauce,
but many people do.
Chicken paprikas is traditionally served with dumplings, or knodel, made
from flour, eggs and water.
"This is the German Hungarian version of spaetzle," Marlene
says.
She watched as Lisa dropped the dough from a small spoon into boiling
salted water.
"When they get to the top, they're pretty much done, but I usually
give them a couple of minutes after that," Marlene says.
If you don't want to go to the trouble of making dumplings, you could
serve the chicken with egg noodles instead.
CHICKEN PAPRIKAS
Hungarian: paprikás csirke
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|
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Chicken:
4
to 5 pounds chicken parts, (or all chicken thighs)
2
tablespoons salt
1
tablespoon black pepper
3
large onions, chopped
4
tablespoons vegetable oil
3
tablespoons paprika
1/2
cup strained canned tomatoes
Water
Sour
cream (optional)
Dumplings:
3
eggs, beaten
3
cups flour
1
tablespoon salt
1/2
cup water
Salted
water |
Sprinkle the chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper. Heat
the oil in a large, deep pot (a cast iron Dutch oven works well)
and cook the onions until softened. Add paprika and stir to coat
the onions. Add the tomatoes and the chicken pieces. Pour in
enough water to just come to the top of the chicken. Let simmer
slowly until tender, about 45 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, make the dumplings: Mix together
the eggs, flour, salt and 1/2 cup water and beat with a spoon.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop batter by the
teaspoonful into the water. Cook about 10 minutes, or until
tender. Drain.
At serving time, add sour cream to taste to the paprikas sauce,
if desired. Serve the chicken and sauce with the dumplings.
Makes
8 to 10 servings.
Recipe
from "Mahlzeit," the cookbook of the United German
Hungarians. |
Mahlzeit - Cookbook
Ordering
Instructions - Click here
Link to online News Articles: Article
1 - Article
2 - Article
3 - Article
4 - Article
5
Link
to Video
A compliation of German Recipes of the people
of the United German Hungarians in celebration of the 100th
anniversary of our founding. |
Posted:
Wednesday,
March 30, 2011 5:59 am | Updated:
5:52 pm, Tue Apr 5, 2011
BETTY
CICHY, staff writer
|