Are you hungry for some Hungarian chicken?
This slow cooker dish is a perfect one-pot meal with minimal cleanup
It’s time for the annual family freezer clean-out! Actually, I feel like it’s been a working project for months — definitely since the holidays!
This week, I focused on meats like pork and chicken that have been in the freezer for way too long.
The goal with any freezer clean-out is to cook the items well before they get freezer burn and have to be thrown away. I can hear my Nanny Sulley’s “tsk-tsks” in my head as we speak. She hates food wastage and, with every last bite on her plate she says, “Waste not, want not”.
No truer words, Nanny. Think about it for a moment, it’s like throwing money directly into the garbage.
“‘Just cleared out some space in the freezer’ sounds so much more productive than ‘I just polished off another pint of ice cream.’”
— Unknown
This week, I made a Hungarian chicken recipe that I want to share with you.
I was first introduced to it years ago by Chef Steve Watson. He made it for an episode of a TV show called ‘One Chef One Critic’.
After the show wrapped, we all got to have a little taste and I was blown away by the smooth, creamy, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth flavours.
ADAPTATIONS
As soon as it came to mind, I knew I had to try to recreate it. Although I couldn’t remember the full recipe, I had the key ingredients of paprika and chicken and put my own spin on it.
Chef Watson made his in a tagine. Unfortunately, I don’t have one of those, so I used my slow cooker instead.
I love using my slow cooker as it brings great comfort on a cold, wintery day.
Yes, I know it’s spring, but we’re still in winter mode here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
INGREDIENTS
To make my Hungarian chicken recipe, you will need four chicken breasts, oneand-a-half cups of chopped mushrooms, one carton of bone broth (946ml), one can of coconut milk, one tablespoon of dried parsley, two
tablespoons of dried garlic, six sliced shallots (or one sliced onion), three tablespoons of Hungarian paprika, a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch and some salt and pepper for good measure.
“Variety’s the very spice of life. That’s what gives it all its flavour.” — William Cowper
A few notes for consideration: Although I used chicken breasts, you can also use chicken thighs or drumsticks — maybe you have something in the freezer that you need to use sooner rather than later?
If you don’t have coconut milk, you can substitute it for sour cream.
If you do use sour cream, add it towards the end of the cooking cycle so it doesn’t curdle.
White mushrooms aren’t necessary to this Hungarian chicken recipe, but I added them to include an additional vegetable as they are mild and complimentary in flavour.
PAPRIKA
There are different types of paprika that you can use. There’s everything from sweet, smokey and hot.
The most important thing to remember is to make sure your paprika is fragrant.
It’s important to check your herbs and spices every now and again as they don’t last forever. They lose their freshness and fragrance over time.
INSTRUCTIONS
How do you make Hungarian chicken? Easy peasy.
Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Turn it on the high setting and let it simmer for about five to six hours. Then, turn it to the low setting for another hour or so.
When you dish it up, the chicken will be done to perfection — tender and fall off the bone.
Safety note, if you have bone-in chicken, be very careful of the little ones that might be hiding in the sauce.
“The slow cooker has a tremendous breadth of uses. I find it supplements regular kitchen equipment and stands in for thing that you might not have. Many of the recipes I’ve come up with, like risotto, is just not what one would think about with this gadget.” — Michele Scicolone
You can serve this with rice, pasta or potatoes. Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley and enjoy!
I hope you like this Hungarian chicken as much as we did. It is most definitely fit to eat.