Chicken Paprikash, Cooked by a Romanian

One day in a co-op in Toledo, Pip came across some incredibly pungent and rather hot [Spanish? Hungarian?] paprika in the bulk spice section. And in his excitement from finding such a good-quality spice, became pretty heavy-handed with the scoop when purchasing. So we ended up with enough paprika to fill a 12-ounce jar.

And that's how we decided we needed more recipes with paprika.

We looked at many a Hungarian paprikash recipe out there on the interwebs, but never found "the one".  So we took tips from four or five good candidates and tweaked them to our liking.  Pip also said that this version is close to the one he remembers his mother cooking back in Transylvania.

1 package of chicken legs
2 heaping tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
2 small yellow onions, chopped
4 or 5 small Hungarian wax peppers, chopped
1 poblano or 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
2-3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
salt and pepper

De-bone and clean your chicken legs.  (If you have the time, you can easily make stock with the bones. We love Pepin's recipe, which you can find at the bottom of this page.) When your chicken is clean, sprinkle paprika and a little salt on the meat.

Warm the oil in a high-walled frying pan or small soup pot.  Add the chicken to the pan and brown a little.  Because you've doused the chicken with paprika, you can't easily see when it's browned on both sides, but that's your end goal.  We remove the chicken from the pot when it is about 75% cooked.  Set the chicken aside.

In the pan that is now full of delicious chicken drippings and paprika, saute the onions and peppers.  Add a dash of oil if needed.  When they're sweaty and the onions are translucent, mix in the flour so it's a little "fried".  Then add the broth and whisk until smooth.  Once the flour lumps are gone, stir in the sour cream, parsley, and garlic.

Finally, add your chicken back to the pan and simmer on low until the chicken is fully cooked.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with dumplings/spaetzle, egg noodles, or crusty bread.

Groninger (Dutch Mustard Soup)

Pip took me on my first European vacation last year, in which we were able to see the Netherlands, Romania and Berlin by staying with his very kind and hospitable relatives.  We spent a day in Amsterdam, where we stumbled upon a terrific restaurant, Haesje Claes.  Everything about the meal was excellent- food, service, ambiance.  The most unforgettable part of the meal was the "creamed mustard-leek soup with eel".

At Haesje Claes: Amsterdam microbrews (and Pip's thumbs)

Of course, we've tried to make similar soups several times since then.  This recipe was most helpful, but you'll need to translate it if you don't read Dutch.

Ingredients:
 2 leeks, chopped
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken broth, room temperature
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup milk or cream
4 tablespoons whole grain mustard
Optional: a little something meaty, salty and smokey, chopped into small bits
              such as smoked herring (our favorite), bacon, or krills

Directions:
Melt butter in a soup pot and add leeks- let them clarify a little, but not so much that the butter or leeks brown. Slowly add in the broth, stirring continuously.  In a separate bowl, whisk the flour into the milk a little at a time to avoid lumps, add extra milk if needed.  Once the flour/milk mixture is ready, slowly add it to the leeks and broth, again with the stirring.  Then stir in the mustard.

When the soup is up to temperature (not boiling of course, as it will curdle the dairy) add in your chopped meat. Simmer for a few minutes for the meat to absorb the soup flavors and vice versa.
Salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

[pic of finished product coming soon]

Some related links: Vegan version of the soup and how to make mustard