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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the paprika stir the spices into the vegetables, and sauté for a minute or so to release the aroma.
- Season the drumsticks with salt and lay them on top of vegetables.
- 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.
- Bring to simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes.
- Turn the chicken pieces and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
- 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.
- Eat.
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