Chicken lentil stew with paprika and gochujang

Today I was craving paprikash, a dish common in Prekmurje, the part of Slovenia where I come from. It is a simple stew that uses paprika as a key spice, and some cream to get more smoothness and richness. But I was facing a challenge: I was not able to use dairy. I also wanted to increase the amount of fiber, which is rather non-existent in the traditional variety of the dish. I also wanted to use up some bean-cooking liquid that I had in the fridge.

To the fridge I went, and came back with onion (yes, I keep it in the fridge so that I don't cry when I cut it), celery, and shiitake mushrooms, which were also asking to be cooked. For the spices I reached for smoked paprika, dry thyme, dry marjoram, and gochujang for additional sweetness and a hint of heat. For fiber, I washed and soaked red lentils. The freezer contributed our thick tomato sauce.

This is what the dish looked like when I started to cook, and I am sad I didn't take a photo of the plating. We ate it with steel cut oats, cooked in almond milk, and finished with a bit of miso, and we also paired the stew with some raw sauerkraut, straight from a jar. One of the best suppers we have had in a while - so good that it needs to be recorded.

Ingredients

• 3 TBS or so olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 cups (approximately) mushrooms, roughly chopped or whole if they are very small
• Optional: 1/2 of medium delicata squash (or any other squash), in 1/4 inch sized pieces
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup red lentils, washed well
• 2 cups tomato sauce. Ours is quite thick
• 1/3 cup smoked paprika, approximately
• 1 tsp try thyme, approxmately
• 1 tsp dry marjaron, approximately
• 1 tsp gochujang, approximately, can be replaced with another chili, but be mindful of the level of heat
• 1-2 cups saved bean cooking liquid, or chicken broth, or vegetable broth
• 5 chicken drumsticks, skinless. 
• Bone-in or boneless hicken thighs would also do fine, but be mindful of the fat.
• If you use chicken breast, you have to adjust cooking time for the meat, so that the breast does no come out dry. I would stew the res of the ingredients for about 10-15 minutes, and then add cubed chicken breasts until cooked through, 5 minutes, maybe a bit longer.
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: 1 TBS cornstarch

Method

1. Pick a suitable pot: A saute pan is ideal here. I used a hybrid wok, but I would likely not use a carbon steel vessel to avoid the tomato sauce affecting seasoning.
2. Heat the oil in the pan on medium heat, then add the onions, celery, and squash if using. Also add a small pinch of salt to help the vegetables release the liquids. Sauté on medium, stir ocassionally.
3. When the vegetables soften a bit, add the garlic and the mushrooms, another small pinch of salt, and sauté on medium heat without the lid until the vegetables soften up a bit.
4. Add the paprika stir the spices into the vegetables, and sauté for a minute or so to release the aroma. 
5. Season the drumsticks with salt and lay them on top of vegetables.
6. Now add the lentils, tomato sauce, broth, marjoram, thyme, and gochugaru. stir well, but keep the chicken drumstick laying flat. The liquids should cover the chicken about 1/2 way up.
7. Bring to simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes.
8. Turn the chicken pieces and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
9. If you want to thicken the sauce, add the cornstarch to a bowl and add a bit of cold water, 1/4 cup or so. Stir well to remove any starch lumps - you got slurry. Immediately add the slurry to the pot, stir well, bring the sauce back to simmer and simmer for a minute or two for the sauce to thicken.
10. Eat.