Column from February 3, 2011

Authentic European cooking is a rare treat

I started reading a book last weekend that takes place in Paris, France. It’s a historical fiction novel about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife and their marriage.

It’s an advanced reader edition, which means the book hasn’t come out yet. I was asked by Random House to read and review it and I’m really enjoying the story.

Hemingway was a friend of my aunt and they often spent time together during the ski season in Idaho. She talked about his eccentricities and I could see some of that in this book.

Sunday evening, I watched an edition of House Hunters International on HGTV. The people were looking for an apartment in France and even though it’s 80 years after when the book takes place, I recognized some of the same areas mentioned in the novel. It definitely gave a real feel for the story to see those places, which haven’t changed very much after all these years.

Another bonus to reading the book is how it talks about the food you find in France, as well as the other countries they traveled to while living there.

I like reading about food in other parts of the world and I have a great cookbook about cooking in the Vienna Empire. The book includes Vienna, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Hungary, where my family is from. It not only has recipes, it has pages of history about the region and the cooking there. It also has some great photographs of the region and the people who live there.

It’s a fun book and interesting to read and look through. This book provides dishes I didn’t have the recipes for and some I hadn’t heard of. It’s a great addition to my collection of cookbooks.

I picked up the book mainly because it included Hungary. I have several of my grandmother’s recipes. She was such an excellent cook and I miss her meals, especially her stuffed cabbage and apple strudel.

One of my favorite meals was always my grandmother’s chicken paprika or paprikás csirke. With the traditional use of sour cream and paprika, it is so delicious. I can still taste how wonderful grandma’s version was.

I do have her recipe and it’s very similar to the one in my Vienna cookbook, so I’m going to share the printed version.

Chicken paprika

3-pound frying chicken, cut up

Salt

2 tablespoons lard

1 cup finely chopped onions

½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1-1/2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika

1 cup chicken stock, fresh or canned

2 tablespoons flour

1-1/2 cup sour cream

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and salt them generously.

In a 10-inch skillet, heat the lard over high heat until a light haze forms over it. Add as many chicken pieces, skin side down, as will fit in one layer. After 2 or 3 minutes, or when the pieces are a golden brown on the bottom side, turn them with tongs and brown the other side. Remove pieces as they brown and replace them with uncooked ones.

Pour off the fat, leaving only a thin film. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly colored. Remove from heat and stir in the paprika. Stir until the onions are well coated. Return the skillet to the heat and add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, stirring in the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pan.

Return the chicken to the skillet. Bring the liquid to a boil, then turn the heat to very low and cover the pan tightly. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the juice from a thigh runs yellow when pierced with the point of a small sharp knife.

When the chicken is tender, remove it to a platter.

Skim the surface fat from the skillet.

In a mixing bowl, stir the flour into the sour cream with a wire whisk, then stir the mixture into the simmering juices. Simmer 6 to 8 minutes longer or until the sauce is thick and smooth. Return the chicken and any juices to the skillet. Baste with the sauce and simmer 3 to 4 minutes to heat the pieces through. Serve with hot buttered egg noodles, if desired.