chicken paprisomething

booored. bored. boooooooooored. flick. twiddle. need to make dinner to be frugal. what do i have? survey turns up: almost enough for paprikash. hunt around a while for recipe ideas, and finally settle on the following, which was good enough to make again and tweak further. i will update quantities on this once i make it for more than just one person (me. ME!) but if you were to plan to make it for 2-4, it is probably necessary to add the following steps:

- pour off all but 1 tbsp chicken fat
- do not double the amount of stock/seasonings; the amount in the recipe is good for 4-6 chicken thighs
- cook thighs in batches depending on the size of your dutch oven

ingredients:

2 chicken thighs, with skins
1.5c chicken stock
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2c white wine or dry vermouth
1/4c cream
3-4 cloves garlic, diced or pressed
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp marjoram
1-2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp butter (optional, see below)

1/4 lb egg noodles

put dutch oven or heavy bottom, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat and add a wee amount of cooking oil if the pan is not well-seasoned. pat chicken thighs dry and season both sides well with ground pepper and salt, then place skin-side down in pan and sear until fat starts to render out and skin starts to crisp a bit, about 4-5 minutes. flip and repeat, then remove thighs and set aside in a dish. start water for pasta.

if there is not at least 1 tbsp fat in the pan, add butter, then add onion dice and saute until translucent, 7-10m. add paprika, marjoram, 1 tsp salt, tomato paste, garlic, and ginger; saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until combined and fragrant. add wine and loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan - this should only take 30s or so.

add 1c of the chicken stock, bring to a good simmer, then add thighs back and reduce heat to maintain a good simmer. cover and cook until thighs are cooked through, flipping them over as necessary; cooking times will vary depending on the size of the thigh, but 20m is probably fine - this stuff is hard to overcook, which is part of why i like this recipe. towards the end, don't forget to start the pasta!

when thighs are done, set aside in a covered dish or plate, and whisk the cornstarch into the reserved 1/2c of stock. add to sauce, bring the sauce back to a simmer, and stir until sauce has thickened slightly, 1-2m. turn off heat and stir in cream. remove the skins from the thighs, add thighs back to sauce, and serve over the pasta. yum!