Classic Hungarian chicken paprikash is a little bit comfort, a little bit retro, a little bit spicy, and definitely one to add to your regular chicken dinner rotation!
Chicken Paprikás, or Paprikash, is a wonderful Hungarian dish that features a combination of flavors that I don’t often cook with, or encounter in restaurants, for that matter. It’s part of my love affair with spices of all kinds this fall. Tender chicken thighs simmer in a tomato rich sauce flavored with two kinds of paprika, both sweet, and hot smoked, all finished off with sour cream and lots of fresh dill. If you haven’t bought smoked paprika before, you’re in for a treat.
The whole thing cooks in one skillet, and starts out by sauteing lots of fresh chopped tomato, thinly sliced onion, and mushrooms. If you make this now you can take advantage of all those tomatoes that are still really red and juicy.
The browned chicken thighs follow after two kinds of paprika have been stirred in. Paprika is made from sweet or hot dried peppers, so it’s somewhat like chili powder. It’s mostly associated with Spanish and Hungarian cuisine, and most of it is grown in those countries, too.. I have cooked with both sweet and hot paprika before, but this is the first time I’ve used smoked.
Other than the fresh dill, the twp paprikas are the only spice used in the sauce, and it results in a really nice intense clear flavor. It’s beautifully red, too.
My husband and I are adventurous eaters, and I’ve been cooking from all over the globe lately, but after our first bite of this we both looked at each other with the same thought—the unusually rich flavor was a new one for us, or, if not completely new, touched on a flavor buried deep down wherever food memories go to rest. We liked it a lot.
Also try ~
Chicken Paprikás
Ingredients
- 4 large skinless boneless chicken thighs, about 1 lb
- salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 1 Tbs butter or olive oil2 Tbsp butter
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
- 4 or 5 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 Tbsp hot smoked paprika
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- generous handful of chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and then brown it on both sides in the hot pan. Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.
- Add the oil to the pan and saute the onions, tomato and mushrooms for several minutes, The onions should become softened, and the tomatoes begin to break down into a sauce. Add the paprikas, stir, and saute a minute more.
- Add the broth to the pan and stir to combine. Nestle the chicken thighs back into the sauce, and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes, covered, until the thighs are cooked through.
- At this point, evaluate whether the sauce is just right, or too thin. If it’s too thin, take out the thighs and boil it down a bit. Then add the thighs back in, swirl in the sour cream, sprinkle generously with fresh dill, and serve over hot buttered egg noodles.
Hey Sue, I loved the phrase where food memories go to rest…..profound. I loved this post. My first father in law, used to make this. He was a German immigrant, and a fabulous inventive cook. I believe he added sour cream to the mix. Not sure. It was a simple dish and nicer the next day. Rice was his thing, and sadly he went to all that trouble and served it with minute rice. The kind that the grains look as tho they exploded on the ends! It’s been years, years since I’ve had it, and I’ll definitely make it really soon. I’m yearning for some of those memories. Many thanks.
that looks sensational! I can almost smell it!
Mary x
Can I live in your kitchen?
Ive had smoked paprika but never sweet?! I didn’t even know it existed! Ok now I HAVE to find this, like…today!
I make chicken paprikash pretty frequently and have never thought to use smoked paprika (which I tried for the first time a couple of years ago and liked). I will give this a try the next time!
I love chicken paprika, but the last time I made it I thought it had too much sour cream. I will definitely try this. Looks light and delicious.
Sam
MMmm this looks the perfect tasty and warming autumn dish – thank you for sharing, I must try this!
I’ve made a similar paprika chicken dish, but not this dish exactly. This sounds delicious with the onions and tomatoes. I LOVE smoked paprika. It is the only paprika left in my house at this point.
I have not made this either – but like the way it sounds and looks! Beautiful
Hi Sue! I have never made this particular dish, but it looks amazing and I love how everything is cooked together in a skillet. I also love recipes from Everyday food. They are like Ina’s recipes, easy, uncomplicated and always turn out great!