This chicken paprikash with cabbage salad brings me back to those times when the smell of Mum’s cooking filled the house.

Nicole says…

A meal just isn’t a meal without Mama’s cabbage in one of its many, many forms!

Mum has always been an amazing cook. Most mornings I would wake up to freshly made crepes, scrambled eggs or prosciutto smothered with horseradish cream. Mum would manage to prepare Dad’s sandwiches before he set off early for work and would pack an ever-so-European lunch for me and my brother. Mum and Dad worked long hours to support us, yet every day when I got home from school, there was a homemade dinner waiting. This family ritual was so special for me, growing up, and it’s something I now cherish with my children and husband.

You can guarantee Mum would have made a big pot of goulash or homemade schnitzels and at least three types of cabbage: pickled, fermented, roasted or braised. Cabbage was our unofficial guest invited to every meal! I now marvel at how Mum seemed to “do it all”.

This chicken paprikash with cabbage salad brings me back to those times when the smell of Mum’s cooking filled the house. This meal is famous in my parents’ home town and is now famous at my place, too – even if it features only one type of cabbage! My family loves the tender, fall-off‑the‑bone chicken and extra dollop of sour cream that melts into the tomato and capsicum sauce. Nothing will ever compare to the meals made by my mum, but this comes pretty close.

NICOLE MAGUIRE’S NEW COOKBOOK THE SIMPLE DINNER EDIT IS OUT NOW.

Chicken Paprikash

 

Ingredients
Serves 4-6

1.2kg chicken drumsticks and bone-in chicken thigh cutlets
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
40g unsalted butter
2 large onions, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely sliced
1 teaspoon freshly grated garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
500ml (2 cups) chicken stock
200g canned crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
pasta of choice, to serve

Cabbage Salad

300g (4 cups) finely sliced green cabbage
80ml (⅓ cup) olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

To make the cabbage salad, combine the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well.

Season the chicken with half the salt and pepper and dust all over with the flour. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken in batches for 2–3 minutes until browned all over. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the butter to the same pan and, once melted, add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add the capsicum and garlic and cook, stirring, for a further 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and paprika and stir them through, then immediately add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, the remaining salt and pepper, and the sugar. Return the chicken to the pan and bring to the boil before reducing the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place it in a shallow dish.

Mix the sour cream into the sauce, then pour it over the chicken. Sprinkle with the parsley (if using) and serve with the cabbage salad and pasta.

Published in ed#708