Csirkepaprikás (Chicken with Paprika)
This rustic, rib-sticking chicken stew is full of warming paprika, cumin, and chiles. Pair it with something starchy, like buttered potatoes or Romanian polenta with sour cream. This recipe first appeared in our March 2012 issue with Alexander Lobrano's article Eternal Terrain.
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Credit: Landon Nordeman
Ingredients
3 tbsp. olive oil1 3–4-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup flour
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 red Holland chile, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
3 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
Ingredients
1. Heat oil in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour; add chicken to pan, and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, and set aside.2. Add garlic, bell peppers, celery, carrot, onion, and chile, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, paprika, and cumin, and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Return chicken to pan along with stock, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes.
3. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, and pour cooking liquid through a strainer into a bowl; discard solids. Season liquid with salt and pepper, and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.
 Recipe - Saveur.com){kind=link}
A real "Paprikas" does not take Flour, Chile, Tomato Paste, Cumin (!!),Celery, Carrots and of all things GARLIC!
Here is the true, old-fashioned Hungarian recipe:
Serves 4-6
6 chicken thighs (or a whole chicken cut into pieces)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, diced
1 large ripe red tomato, diced
2 heaping tbsps. Hungarian sweet Paprika
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sour cream and Parsley for garnish
In a large saucepan, saute the onion and green pepper in the olive oil. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Add the tomato and the paprika, combining well so that all the chicken is well coated. Add the chicken stock, salt and pepper, cover and reduce heat to medium/low, simmering for approximately 45 minutes or until the sauce has been reduced and the chicken is almost falling from the bone. Stir from time to time. Serve topped with sour cream and a little chopped parsley. Goes well with home made Hungarian dumplings, otherwise known as "Galuska".
Note: "Paprikas" is the Hungarian version of "Stew" - this recipe can be made with diced veal, beef, pork, fish or just potatoes.
Lynn Daniella Hoffmann
Author of: Jump Into My Kitchen
http://jumpintomykitchen.blogspot.com/
True to the earlier review, I agree with the authenticity of her recipe, not Saveur's. It would be more interesting if Saveur sussed out the tradition, represented it, then presented the creative alternative or updated version.
As with all great comfort food, there are small differences in every household: comparing my recipe with Lynn's, I do add some garlic and leave the green pepper and tomato whole.
On using cumin: never, ever pair cumin with paprika! Unfortunately the Hungarian word for caraway seeds (used quite frequently in paprika dishes, adds a lovely earthy flavour) "kömény", sounds very close to cumin, so it gets mistranslated quite often.
On adding carrots and celery: not only is celery incredibly rarely used in Hungarian cuisine (celeriac on the other hand is used a lot more - although in soups mostly), no decent paprikás (be it chicken, veal or potato) has ever seen carrots.
On using flour: absolutely unnecessary. The thickness of the sauce should come from the onions and the bones, not from flour (although, if you find your stew too thin, you can MacGyver it with a tablespoon of flour mixed in some sour cream). Instead of chicken stock, I recommend using about a cup of dry white or rosé wine.
The creativity came from the cook who adjusted the meals to the preference of the people he/she served.
Therefore the recipe giving the instructions on how to prepare “Echte ungarische Paprikahühner” (True Hungarian Paprika Chicken – Original recipe) will remain the secret buried in my cookbook published in 1926.
I have no doubt that this recipe for chicken with paprika can turn out great. But please do not call it csirkepaprikás.
Cooking is an art like any other and is very subjective. Just do your homework !