Heritage

Not Your Mom's Paprikas

Chicken Paprikas   |   Csirke Paprikas

I have been in a rut the last couple of days. I have had the chance to write some stuff, but it ended up being very personal, and about things that tended to be very dark. I think that is what a lot of us are going through right now. You have a couple of weeks that feel like, “look at all of the stuff I have gotten done”, then the next week you come to the realization that you don’t have that job to go to right now. Your “meaning” that you thought was so important is gone, even if it is temporary. A lot of us have never been without a job. When we were kids in the restaurant industry we were told that “you will never go hungry, and you will always have a job.” Up until these last couple of months that has always been true. Even if you lost a job, there were 12 right down the street that would take you in a heartbeat. I never worried about it. Now in this Pandemic we see a new way of being for people in the restaurant business.

We, as a restaurant society, have been decimated. Some of us will have to figure out something new to do all together. How do you retrain yourself after 30 years of doing something you truly love? Now you have to turn around and figure out how to write code for a website? I am lucky enough that I am just furloughed. Meaning, I hopefully have a job waiting for me when the money comes back. The biggest part of that statement though is “when” the money comes back. I have always been a very patient man, but this is scary. Watching the news, trying to ring all of the facts from all of the different sources out there is mind numbing. That in itself would put most people into a depression tailspin. My wife asked me the other day, “Have you ever thought about a back up plan in case this doesn’t come back?” To tell you the truth, no I have not. I can’t imagine doing anything else. This industry is so important to me. The sad or happy truth is that it defines me, and I am ok with that.

I think it is really important that we know where we come from, and where the beginning of recipes come from as well.

Ivan Szilak

Inspiration comes from so many different avenues. It can be the rain, a bird stealing your newly laid grass seed, your friends.... I have said it before, I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. I have a loving wife, a wonderful son, amazing friends, and I have the ability to have fun putting all of this down on paper. I also have a heritage that allows me to know something about what it might have been like to be an immigrant in the early 1900’s. Ok, back up. I have no idea what my relatives went through when they came over from Hungary. What I do get to inherit from them is the love for a cuisine that came from a land far away. Most of this is an interpretation of what actually was cooked in Hungary. We definitely have more product and money available to us then they had, but I will do my best to represent my ancestors.

Enough with the serious stuff, lets cook!


Start with the Chicken

1 lb Chicken Thigh (boneless, skinless)
.5 tbs Kosher Salt
.25 tbs Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 tbs Hungarian Paprika
2 tbs Olive Oil

Liberally season chicken thighs with the Paprika, Salt and Pepper on both sides of the chicken. Heat oil to right right before the smoke point. Sear both sides of the chicken. Pull and reserve. You are not cooking the chicken all of the way though just yet. It will still be raw in the middle. Not to worry. If you need to jump ahead to feel better you can (see Chicken Braise).


Onions

1 tbs Olive Oil
1 ea Sweet Onion
1 tbs Hungarian Paprika
.5 tbs Kosher Salt
.25 tbs Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Take the pan that you had just cooked the chicken in and dab it clean with a paper towel to get the burnt spices and left over oil out of the pan. Add new oil. Now sweat out onions with Paprika, Salt and Pepper until tender, translucent and sweet.


Chicken Braise

1 pt Chicken Stock

When onions are translucent add the chicken thigh back to the onions. Then add 1 pt Chicken Stock, and put in a 450 degree oven. Cook until chicken is done, about 20 minutes.


Finish the Sauce

1 pt Sour Cream

Remove the chicken and reserve for later. Add Sour Cream to Onions and Chicken Stock mixture. Whisk in, do not bring back to a boil (This will cause the mixture to thin out).

Next it will be time for the dumplings!





Drop Dumplings

1 lb AP Flour
1 tbs Hungarian Paprika
1 tbs Kosher Salt
.5 tbs Freshly Ground Black Pepper
5 ea Eggs
2 tbs Whole Milk

OK, making dumplings is difficult until you get the feel for them. I have messed them up many times. I used to watch my Mother make them, my Grandmother, my Cousin... all different. You have to do it for yourself. I am sure that one of my cousins, maybe even an aunt, is reading this and saying Ivan is so doing this wrong. I could be, but this is how the drop dumpling has evolved in my world. Imagine me sticking my tongue out in rebellion.

Mix all of the dry ingredients with a fork (Flour, Paprika, Salt, Pepper). Next form a well with the fork. Add the eggs. Stab each yolk (no reason, just fun), then start to whisk with the fork. Slowly start to bring in the flour from the sides a little at a time. As the mixture starts to come together add enough milk to make it not too thick. You want the mixture to be like a very thick batter. I do this whole process from beginning to end with a fork. This is so that I do not over mix.


Cooking Process

Bring to boil about 2 qt of water seasoned heavily with Kosher Salt (salty as the sea). With a small spoon, slowly push the batter with your finger into the boiling water. You want to cover the bottom of the pot with the dollops (10 - 14). Let them boil for about 4 to 6 minutes, then scoop them out and add them to the Sour Cream, Onion and Chicken Stock mix from above.
Repeat process until all of the batter is gone. Don’t worry about making too much, there are never too many dumplings. Believe me, never. I am eating left overs as I am writing this blog.

Now place the chicken back on top of the dumplings and go to work on the broccoli, or whatever veg you would prefer.


Broccoli with Crispy Garlic

10 ea Garlic Cloves
.5 cup Olive Oil
1 head Broccoli
1 tbs Kosher Salt
.25 tbs Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Sliver the garlic as thin as you can get it, and add to the olive oil. Season with a quarter of the salt. Cook low and slow until golden brown. Once golden, strain out garlic and reserve for garnish later.

Cut up broccoli into florets. Toss with the oil that you cooked the garlic in, along with the salt and pepper. Place in some sort of pan that allows space. Cook at 450 degrees until crispy.




Now it All Comes Together

I have cousins and aunts yelling right now because I used chicken that doesn’t have a bone, and no skin. They are looking at how I made the dumplings and saying, “that is not how your Grandmother did it.” I know, you are all correct. Now I will reference above, "This is not your Mom’s Paprikas."" I have pushed the envelope with this recipe, because I have put it on menus at restaurants. That being said, this is my home recipe version. This is how I make it for myself. I could tell you I am using chicken stock (recipe to come in a later Blog) instead of water therefore I don’t need to use chicken with bones to get the flavor. Also, I can tell you that my Mother always hated that I put paprika in my dumplings. No excuse for that, I just really like the color and the flavor.

Enough of all of this, put the dish together already.

Ladle up a good amount of dumplings and sauce in a bowl. I take the chicken and slice it up. Easier to eat. Lazy I know. Don’t care. Add the chicken right on top of the dumplings. Right next to the chicken, add the crispy broccoli. Top everything with the garlic chips.

Nice!

Now for all of the people who really want to know how my Grandmother, and her friends made this dish I have added pictures from my Secrets of Hungarian Cookery Cook Book. This is a little cook book that was put together by the Mothers' Club of St. Stephen’s Church in Toledo, Ohio. I think it is really important that we know where we come from, and also where the beginning of recipes come from as well. Recipes are a basis to work from. We can play from there. We all have things that we like, and things we don’t. I probably tend to use too much salt. That is my taste. You can take this wherever you would like. Just remember you can always add, but you can’t take it away. At least when it comes to salt.




Explore More