Chicken Paprikash with Nokedli
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking, America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats.
Chicken thighs are braised in a deeply paprika-flavoured onion sauce, finished with soured cream, and served with soft, hand-pinched nokedli dumplings.
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Method
- 1
Brown the chicken. Season the chicken with salt, then heat the oil and butter in the casserole over medium-high heat. Lightly brown the chicken for 2 minutes per side, then lift it out onto a plate.
- 2
Cook the onions. With the heat lowered to medium, cook the onions for 10-12 minutes, until soft and pale golden. Slow, even cooking here builds the sweetness that underpins the whole sauce.
- 3
Bloom the paprika off the heat. Take the pan off the heat completely before stirring in the sweet and hot paprika for 30 seconds. This matters more than it sounds: paprika scorches and turns bitter within seconds over direct heat, so pulling the pan away protects its colour and flavour.
- 4
Simmer the chicken. Add the red pepper, tomato, garlic and water, return the pan to the heat, then add the chicken back in with its juices. Cover and simmer gently for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is tender and reaches at least 74°C.
- 5
Make the nokedli batter. While the chicken simmers, whisk the flour, eggs, water and ¼ tsp of salt into a thick, sticky batter, then let it rest for 10 minutes so the flour fully hydrates.
- 6
Cook the nokedli. Bring a large pan of water to the boil with the tablespoon of salt. Press the batter through a spätzle maker or a large-holed colander directly into the boiling water, in 2 batches, and cook for 2-3 minutes until the dumplings float to the surface. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and toss with the butter.
- 7
Finish with soured cream. Whisk the soured cream with the flour, then whisk in a ladleful of the hot sauce to warm it through gradually. Stir this mixture back into the pan and heat gently for 2-3 minutes without letting it boil - the flour is what stops the cream from splitting as it heats.
- 8
Serve. Serve the chicken and sauce over the nokedli, with an extra spoonful of soured cream on top.
Storage
Keep the chicken with its sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days; the dumplings are best made fresh but will keep separately for a day. Reheat gently on the hob without boiling hard, until piping hot and 74°C throughout, to avoid splitting the sauce. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- large heavy casserole with lid (26-28 cm)
- large saucepan
- spätzle maker or colander with large holes
- slotted spoon
- whisk
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 746 kcal |
| Protein | 52.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 65.7 g |
| of which sugars | 8.4 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 29.6 g |
| of which saturates | 11.5 g |
| Fibre | 5.7 g |
| Salt | 2.57 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
7.1 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
