Chicken Paprykarz

There is a wonderful little Polish restaurant in downtown Glendale, AZ named Touch of European. Everything that Chef Waldemar Okula and his wife Margaret serve there is out of this world.

Waldemar and Margaret also have taught several classes at Plate It Up!, my favorite gourmet kitchen tools store in Glendale. For me this dish is roll-your-eyes good. It is absolutely dirt-simple to make. It does however rely upon an obscure seasoning named Vegeta.

Vegeta is produced in Croatia and contains salt, garlic, and several dried vegetables (carrots, parsnips, onions, celery, and parsley). Vegeta adds a lot of flavor and if you omit it the dish will not be the same. Waldemar carries it in his restaurant so you can buy it there. There is also a little Polish deli across town that carries it.

One thing I learned about bell peppers: The yellow ones are the sweetest. Yellow, then orange, then red then green. If you don’t like the taste of green bell peppers, then head for the other end of the scale and try yellow. I used one each yellow and orange bell pepper in this dish.

Chicken Paprykarz

2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, untrimmed
2 medium onions
2 -3 green, red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 qt chicken stock
whole wheat flour
sweet/mild paprika
Vegeta
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups heavy cream

Dredge the chicken thighs in whole wheat flour and set aside. Bring chicken stock to a boil. Add 3-4 tablespoons Vegeta.

Brown the chicken over medium-high heat. After browning both sides of each chicken thigh place it in the boiling stock. Using the same pan, saute the tomatoes and add them to the stock. Saute the peppers and onions until soft and add them to the stock. Allow everything to simmer for about 45 minutes. Add then paprika and cream.