Thursday, January 6, 2011

Chicken Paprikash with Homemade Spaetzel

Mmmmm, comfort food anyone? This is my favorite dish.( I'm talking last meal quality.) Walking into my grandma's house and smelling the chicken & the paprika simmering. (Give me a minute, I'm having a warm and fuzzy moment.)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 
12 oz. sour cream 
16 oz. chicken broth  (I use water & chicken bouillon)
1 onion 
3-4 tablespoons Hungarian paprika 
2 tablespoon garlic 
1 tablespoon salt 
1 teaspoon ground black pepper 
1/2 teaspoon ginger 
2 tablespoons flour or cornstarch
olive oil 
 Chop up the chicken breasts into small pieces.

Put the chicken and garlic in a pan; sautee in olive oil.
Chop up the onion into small pieces.
Put the onions and some chicken broth into the pan. Use just enough broth to keep everything covered don't over fill the pan. You can add the rest in when you add the flour.
Stir in the other spices (paprika, salt, black pepper, ginger).
Simmer to let the chicken and onions cook thoroughly. 
When the chicken and onions are fully cooked, add the flour. Use a fork to mix in the flour. Remove from heat and let it thicken for 10 minutes.
Add in the sour cream, and it's ready to serve over spaetzel.
Spaetzel (It's like a soft noodle, Grandma referred to them as little dumplings.)

1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
Get a pot of water going at a high boil.
Mix the milk, flour, and eggs in a bowl. The batter should be a little thicker than a cake mix: a tiny bit stiff, but definitely not dough.
With a spoon, drop a small amount of batter into the boiling water, and let boil for about 20 minutes. You will watch the little balls sink to the bottom of the pan & gradually float to the top. When they are all at the top, they are done. Use a spatula or a slitted spoon to remove them.
Be advised that you need to keep the water at a high boil for this to work: the surfaces of the dumplings really need to cook as soon as they hit the water. That way they won't stick together.
The dumplings will expand as they cook, so try not to make them very large. You can chop them up with a spatula after you pull them out if you need to.

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