Paprikás Csirke

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 3 tbsp lard or vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 yellow pointed pepper, deseeded and sliced
• 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 200 g soured cream
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 250 g plain flour, for the nokedli
• 2 large eggs, for the nokedli
• 150 ml water, for the nokedli
• 1 tsp salt, for the nokedli

Before you cook

• Season the chicken pieces all over with the salt and black pepper.
• Finely chop the onions, slice the pepper and chop the tomatoes.
• Whisk the 2 tablespoons of flour into the soured cream in a bowl until completely smooth.
• Beat the nokedli eggs with the water and 1 teaspoon of salt, then stir in the 250 g of flour to make a thick, sticky batter and leave it to rest.

Steps

1. Heat the lard in a wide heavy pan over medium-high heat.
2. Brown the chicken pieces skin side down for 5 minutes, then turn and brown the other side for 3 minutes.
3. Move the chicken to a plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
4. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the chopped onions with a pinch of salt.
5. Cook the onions for 12 minutes, stirring often, until they are soft, sweet and pale gold with no bite left.
6. Take the pan off the heat entirely and stir in the paprika, which scorches and turns bitter over direct flame.
7. Stir the paprika through the onions for 30 seconds until the mixture is deep red and smells sweet.
8. Return the pan to medium heat and add the sliced pepper and chopped tomatoes.
9. Cook for 4 minutes until the tomatoes collapse into the onions.
10. Pour in the chicken stock and stir the base smooth.
11. Nestle the chicken back into the sauce along with the juices from the plate.
12. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 35 minutes, until the meat pulls easily from the bone.
13. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the nokedli.
14. Press the rested batter through a spaetzle grater or push it off a wet chopping board with a knife into the boiling water in small ragged pieces.
15. Cook the nokedli for 2 minutes after they float, then scoop them out and drain them well.
16. Lift the chicken out of the sauce onto a plate and take the pan off the heat.
17. Whisk two ladlefuls of the hot sauce into the soured cream mixture a little at a time, so it warms through without splitting.
18. Pour the tempered cream back into the pan and stir it through the sauce.
19. Set the pan over low heat and cook for 4 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens and turns a soft coral colour, never letting it boil.
20. Return the chicken to the sauce and turn each piece to coat it.
21. Taste for salt, then serve the chicken and its sauce over the nokedli.