chicken paprikash with potato dumplings

hubster and i recently traveled through spain with friends 

one of the gals was mildly obsessed with paprika

she was very determined

to bring some home

at every stop

 she looked for the perfect spice

for paprikash

in the end

she arrived home with a

satchel full 

of the wonderful crimson spice

i

promised a recipe

that would showcase

the wonderful 

flavor of this smoky and rich ground pepper

this recipe is very flavorful 

it is usually eaten with a flour dumplings

however

i favor large potato dumplings with this recipe

it gives it heft

and 

curbs the spice a bit

paprikash with potato dumplings

chicken paprikash
(printable recipe)

1 /2 cup flour

2 Tbs sweet paprika

t/t salt

t/t pepper

whole chicken cut into 8 pieces

3 Tbs olive oil

1 large onion-cut in half, then thinly sliced

1Tbs + 1 tsp smoked paprika

3 Tbs paprika

¼ tsp cayenne

14 oz can diced tomatoes

juice from 1/2 lemon

2 tsp sugar

2 cups or more chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

 Combine flour and 2 Tbs paprika with salt and pepper.  Dredge chicken in flour mixture.  Reserve left over flour.  Add oil to dutch oven.  Heat over medium high heat.  Add chicken and brown on both sides.  Remove chicken and reserve.  Add a bit more oil to pot.  Add onion and cook until tender.  Add red pepper, paprika and salt.  Return chicken to pot and pour in the tomatoes. Add enough broth to cover.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer 30-45 minutes, until chicken is done.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Combine reserved flour and ½ cup sour cream.  Add small amount of liquid from pot to flour mixture and stir with whisk until smooth.  Add to pot and simmer 5 minutes.  Add remaining sour cream at serving.

potato gnocchi
(printable recipe)

2 large russet potatoes

1 cup (about) flour

1 egg--slightly beaten

generous pinch salt

scrub the potatoes and rub with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  put on a cookie sheet and bake at 400F until baked through and soft.  while the potatoes are still hot, cut each potato in half and push through a potato ricer in a mound. (save the skins for a yummy snack) make a well in the potato and sprinkle with most of the flour, and the salt.  put the egg in the well and gently mix in to form a dough.  try not to overwork, and add flour as necessary to make a dough that will stay together. you really don't want your dough falling apart in the water. you may need more than 1 cup flour. knead until the dough is cohesive. for this recipe, i make large gnocchi "dumplings", but you can make traditional ones if you like. roll the dough out to 1/4" and cut into rectangles.  make score marks on each side (this helps "catch" the sauce).  cook the dumplings in a pot of boiling salted water. toss them into the water, let them float to the top and then wait another 60 seconds or so.  remove from the water then, toss into the pot of paprikash and let them soak up a bit of the sauce. when serving, i put the dumplings in one serving dish and the chicken with sauce in another.  while served separately, they are meant to be eaten together.

i am linking this up to

tuesday night supper club

falling for sweet potatoes

Potatoes are my downfall. And I really love sweet potatoes.  They are so versatile, and their sweetness begs to be paired with spicy, savory bits.

Football season means fall.  

Even if it is unbearably hot outside, it is still fall and calls for fall food.  So the other day, I set out to make a sweet potato gnocchi with walnut sauce.
Walnut sauce? Yes.
About 20 years ago in Florence, I found myself alone on a Saturday night and hankering for a big plate of pasta. I stumbled upon this small dark trattoria on the outskirts of the city.  When I saw tortollini con noce on the menu, It was a must try.
I have this thing about trying things I have never eaten before.


After a long day hiking in Cinqueterre, I was very excited to taste what Vernazza was calling its local specialty. I neglected to ask what exactly it was.
Big mistake.
 It was a heaping plate of steaming sardines. 
The minute it was delivered, all the feral cats of the neighborhood, stalked my table.
That same year, I made the same sort of mistake when ordering what I thought was a pastry in a caffe haus in Vienna.  What I thought would be a large snowball pastry, ended up being a stiff drink.  
My German is tres bad.  
As a matter of fact, the only German I had a good handle on was some drunk guy at Oktoberfest.

The walnut sauce was sublime. I wrote about it in my travel journal and was anxious to try it again. The next time I went to the restaurant, it wasn't on the menu. Apparently it was a daily special. I didn't find myself in Florence until many years later, and sadly, the restaurant was no longer there.
I have spent hours on the internet trying to find a comparable recipe. Nothing really hit the mark. So I set out to make my own version of the sauce. Since I was already in the mood for sweet potato gnocchi, I decided to pair the two.
It wasn't exactly as I remember, but it was good. So I pass it on to you.

To make the gnocchi, I modified the recipe in this month's Gourmet Magazine

Click here for Gourmet Magazine's Sweet Potato Gnocchi recipe

Gourmet's recipe calls for a sage and chestnut sauce, which I didn't make.  I also omitted the nutmeg and the parmesan cheese from the dough.  You may need a wee bit more flour.  

Please note the extra gnocchi can be frozen--which is great for a fast mid-week dinner.

Walnut Sauce

1 cup toasted walnuts

nice size knob (lets say 2"x1") of aged gouda

cloves from 1 head of roasted garlic

freshly ground pepper

walnut oil

Place toasted walnuts, garlic and gouda in a food processor.  Whirl until all components are mingled well together.  Slowly pour in walnut oil until you get a nice emulsified sauce.  Add pepper.  Use as a sauce for the gnocchi.  You can also use as a nice condiment for chicken, or add a bit of vinegar and make a dressing.  It tastes really wonderful on roasted asparagus, or on an apple salad.  The uses are endless.

Additions

Slice 1 medium to large onion in half and then again in half moon slices.  Place in a skillet with a nice glug (to cover the bottom) of olive oil.  Add the onions and slowly cook to caramelize.  This can take 30 minutes or so.  You want to cook them slowly, do not raise the heat to speed the process.  Also, I advise against using a sweet onion...it will become like candy and not be complimentary to the dish.  

Remove the onion and reserve.  Take 3 andouille sausages ( i like trader joes chicken version), and slice on the bias.  Cook on medium high heat until nicely browned. Remove from heat and reserve.

Meanwhile, boil the water for the gnocchi.  Once the gnocchi is done, drop into the skillet (on medium heat).  Add a generous amount of walnut sauce.  The sauce will likely be a bit thick.  Add some of the gnocchi water to thin. 

gnocchi in the walnut sauce

 Add back the sausage and the onions and warm through.  Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

sweet potato gnocchi with caramelized onions, andouille and walnut sauce