Chicken Paprika (Hungarian Chicken Paprikash)

Chicken Paprika – Hungarian Chicken Paprikash is chicken, onions, peppers in a sour cream sauce with a healthy dose of paprika.Do you remember that episode of the TV show Friends where one of the characters, Monica Gellar,  reminisces about her love of sour cream? Well, let’s just say that particular episode, I could strongly relate to.

Anything that calls for sour cream, in any quantity, is pretty much a sure bet I will love it.

A few years ago my grandma gave me a European cookbook she acquired back in the 70’s or 80’s. It covers a lot of cuisines I hope to experience first hand one day, but in the meantime I can travel all over Europe (mostly eastern Europe) in this one book. I tend to read my cookbooks like regular books.I put strips of paper to mark things I’d like to try (or try to adapt). Well, I recently was in California and picked up a large jar of Hungarian Sweet Paprika.  This I could have acquired it at home, but I got it there for no apparent reason.This is my second dish where paprika is the star lately. When I was thinking about what to make with it, I remembered I had seen a recipe for Chicken Paprika in the European cookbook, so I grabbed the book, found the recipe, and decided to adapt it slightly. You can see the original recipe in the picture below.While I was making it, Elizabeth came in and thought I was making chicken tikka masala, her favorite Indian dish. She was disappointed. After she recovered, she enjoyed the dish. So for me, Elizabeth liking it and it having a lot of sour cream makes it a full winner in my book .

A note about paprika. There are many varieties out there; sweet, smokey, spicy. I used 2 tsp sweet and 1/2 tsp of regular McCormick brand paprika, which has a bit more spiciness to it than sweet. Use your favorite but add slowly, and allow the flavors to meld as it will intensify as it cooks.

Chicken Paprika (Hungarian Chicken Paprikash)

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Hungarian

Author: Michelle De La Cerda

Chicken Paprika - Hungarian Chicken Paprikash is chicken, onions, peppers in a sour cream sauce with a healthy dose of paprika

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Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion , thinly sliced
• 1 large , 2 medium red bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 chicken breasts; cut to chunky strips (close to "nugget size")
• 1/4 tsp salt; to taste
• 1/4 black pepper; to taste
• 2 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Instructions

1. In a large pan, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat.
2. Once the oil and butter have combined and is hot, sauté the onions and peppers for 3-5 minutes or until they are soft and begin to brown.
3. Add the chicken and allow it to brown and begin to cook, at least 5 minutes.
4. Add the salt and pepper, starting with 1/8 of a tsp.
5. Add the paprika and mix well.
6. Once the paprika has been mixed in, add the sour cream.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low, allowing the sour cream to blend and become a sauce.
8. Taste for salt and pepper, adding more if needed.
9. Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
10. Garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro, if desired.
11. Serve and enjoy (over egg noodles)

**This recipe is naturally gluten free, pictured with egg noodles which are not, so prepare this Chicken Paprika (Hungarian Chicken Paprikash) with gluten free noodles or over rice. 

Thank you for sharing!