Chicken Paprikash

I saved several recipes from our old Cooks Illustrated magazines before we tossed them. Turns out, I saved this one to try when it got cooler. It didn't really get that much cooler, but Saturday we had the remnants of Hurricane Ike which turned out to be a whole day of dribbling, drooling rain. It felt like fall enough to try this.

Note: This requires a dutch oven, which we do not have. I used a Calphalon, oven safe pot and it worked just fine going in the oven. If you don't have an oven-safe pot to cook in, I think this could be done entirely on top of the stove.


Chicken Paprikash
(serves 4, can be made in advance without the sour cream)
(best with buttered egg noodles, but rice will do)

8 bone-in chicken thighs, about 3 lbs (I hate thighs, even my own, so I used skinless breast meat cut in chunks to look like thighs)
salt and ground black pepper
1 t vegetable oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced thin
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, halved, sliced 1/4 inch strips
1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, halved, sliced 1/4 inch strips
3 1/2 T sweet paprika
1/4 t dried marjoram
1 T all-purpose flour
1/2 c dry white wine
1 can (14.5 oz) dived tomatoes, drained
1/3 c sour cream
2 T chopped fresh parsley

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat to 300 degrees for later. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil on stovetop in a dutch oven or large oven-safe pot on medium high until shimmering but not smoking. Brown chicken (in batches if necessary) on both sides until medium brown, about 5 minutes per side for large chunks. Transfer to a plate.

If there is a lot of chicken fat in the pan, drain off most of it. Then cook the oven, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add red and green peppers, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned and peppers are soft, about 3 minutes. Add 3 T of the paprika, marjoram and flour; cook until fragrant, stirring constantly about 1 minute. Add wine, scraping bottom of the pan to get any stuck-on bits, then stir in tomatoes and 1 t of salt.

Add chicken pieces (submerge 'em) and any juices that have accumulated in the plate, put a lid on it, and toss the whole thing in the oven. Cook until chicken is completely cooked, about 30 minutes (or less if using just white meat). Remove pot from oven. (If making ahead, let it cool to room temperature and refrigerate. Warm it up slowly and proceed when ready.)

The recipe now says to remove the chicken and put on individual plates, then cream up the hot sauce, then spoon over the chicken. I say, come on, let's just make a simple stew. I shredded our chicken and kept it in the pot. But do as you wish.

Combine sour cream and remaining 1/2 T paprika in a small bowl. Add some of the hot sauce into sour cream and stir, then add to the pot. Serve over hot buttered noodles and sprinkle with parsley.

This is very yummy with a Viognier. It balances the sweet and smoky stew beautifully.