Tradition!

A part of my regular cooking repertoire is a Hungarian dish handed down for generations called Chicken Paprikash. It is my go to comfort food. This dish was handed down from my great grandmother Helen Bogdanffy Lakatos, whom I called Nana, but my grandmother often referred to her as The Little General due to her short stature and the way in which she presided over the kitchen. She taught my grandmother, who taught my mother, who taught me how to make this dish. It is very simple dish; just chicken, onions, salt, pepper, and Hungarian paprika, and a dallop huge spoonful of sour cream! Hungarian meals just are not complete without sour cream. It makes the most delicious creamy sauce that I often find myself licking off the plate at the end of the meal.  



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When I have made this dish in the past, I always served it with wide eggs noodles. Nana never caved to pre-made packaged noodles and always served her paprikash with homemade dumplings known as spaetzle.  Growing up I can remember my mother making spaetzle from time to time, but she also often served it with egg noodles. Noodles are just easier, and almost as good.  However, if you have just a little bit of extra time I found making spaetzle isn't all that difficult.  

As I already mentioned, the recipe itself is simple.  Eggs, flour, water, salt, and maybe a dash of nutmeg.  Before I ventured down the path of spaetzle making I consulted with mother on the best method.  She explained that the way Nana always did it was to place the spaetzle dough onto a small cutting board and while perching it on the edge of a large pot of boiling water she would make quick small cuts from the dough and push it off the board into the water.  This sounds good in theory, but Nana was an expert and I am no Hungarian housewife!  (just and Irish one! ha ha)

So I broke tradition and tried my hand at a different technique.  I used a slotted spoon and pushed the dough through the holes using a rubber spatula.  Once I got the rhythm down it worked out quite well and resulted in nice even sized pieces of speatzle. Then after a few minutes in the jacuzzi and they were ready to be scooped out with my sieve and tossed in a buttered dish!

Even though I broke tradition in my method of preparation, I did not intend to do so with my method of serving.  I served them right away with my chicken paprikash and a big dollop of sour cream.  Oh, and I tossed in some healthy steamed asparagus just to balance things out a bit! 

They are also wonderful on their own with some sauteed onions or mushrooms and a little brown butter.  Because they are basically like noodles they act as the perfect blank slate for anything you can dream up to add to them. But be warned, The Little General may be watching you from her kitchen in the sky, so don't veer too far off course!

My Grandmother and my Nana (AKA The Little General)