This was one of the first dishes I learned to cook from Val when she trusted me to make the main course for dinner. She would serve it only in winter on top of her buttered spaetzle, with green beans as an accompaniment. It is also good on top of broad egg noodles. While I learned to make this with chicken on the bone, it also works well using boneless skinless thighs. This would serve four to six; feel free to halve or quarter the recipe.
Ingredients
4 pounds chicken, bone in, cut into serving pieces
–OR–
2- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs.
If using whole chickens, separate the wings and then quarter the whole breast. Also separate the thigh from the drumstick. Knock the anklebone off the drumsticks. Often the butcher will do all this for you.
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbl Hungarian paprika
1 tbl garlic, minced
2 sweet red peppers, cut into strips
2 sweet green peppers cut into strips
1 large onion (about a pound), minced
14-oz can plum tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup sour cream
1 – 2 tbl flour
¼ cup minced parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Season the chicken with salt and pepper; rub with a little olive oil. Cook the chicken in a 450° oven. Keep the light and dark meat separate on the sheet pan so you can easily pull out the breasts and return the legs to the oven, as they take longer to cook. You want to take the chicken from the oven when the skin is golden and the meat is half way done, around 20 minutes. . If you want, you can skin the chicken (save the skin for stock) before finishing in the sauce. If you are using boneless skinless chicken thighs they should take about 12 to 15 minutes in the oven. Set aside while you make the sauce.
In ¼ olive oil, sauté the onion until it is golden brown, add the garlic and peppers and cook until the vegetables are soft. Blend in the paprika. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the chicken stock and simmer to blend the flavors. Add the chicken to finish cooking in the sauce, either on top of the stove or in a 350° oven. Just before serving, add the parsley and stir in the sour cream, which has been blended with the flour, so it doesn’t curdle. Do not boil the sauce. This dish improves when made a day ahead.