Chicken Paprikash is one of Ryan’s favorite comfort foods from his childhood. His Mom passed the recipe to me and I added my own fall-themed spin to it in this Pumpkin Chicken Paprikash. I add pureed pumpkin to the sauce in place of tomatoes. Note that it’s pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling adds in all those sweet spices, which don’t jive particularly well with onion and garlic 😉
I typically make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs, but if you’re into that crispy skin action, just make sure to keep the skin side up and don’t submerge the thighs completely in the sauce before putting them into the oven. That will help keep them crispy after you sear them.
Mind Your Paprika
Also, keep in mind that I recommend Smoked Paprika or Hungarian Paprika. The standard stuff doesn’t add much flavor or personality. If you want this dish to have punch, you need to use a quality paprika with sweet smoky flavor. It makes a HUGE difference!
As for serving them, Ryan’s favorite is his Mom’s dumplings, which remind me of German spaetzle. She is also known to serve it with mashed potatoes. But, lots of folks are known to eat chicken paprikash with egg noodles. It’s totally up to you.
The Recipe
[tasty-recipe id=”7115″]
