Winter Cooking: Chicken Goulash with Sour Cream Dumplings

This is the blog post where I announce a triumphant return to blogging on the regular.

Really. This time I mean it. And what better way to start mid-January 2018, than with a recipe for a smoky and delicious chicken goulash? This dish originally comes from Food and Wine Magazine but I’ve played around with it a bit and finally landed on this version. It’s a meal I make at least three or four times throughout the fall and winter. I think it’s best if you can make the goulash earlier in the day, then store it in the fridge for a few hours to let all the flavors meld together and get awesome.

If you don’t have time to do that, no problem, just make the dumplings after you get the broth into your pot and it will still be mighty flavorful. The orange brightens up the earthiness a bit and plays very well with the smoked paprika.

Some of the ingredients are divided and used for different parts of the recipe (half the sour cream for the dumplings, the other half with the chicken; some of the butter in the pan, most in the dumplings), but the diligence in reading through the directions carefully will be rewarded in the end. Promise.

Chicken Goulash with Sour Cream Dumplings
Adapted from Wood and Wine magazine, serves 3-4
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons (divided)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Hungarian paprika
1 tbsp + 2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds (divided)
3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
juice of 1 orange
1 cup sour cream (divided)
2 tsp baking powder
Fresh dill, chopped (for garnish)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour. In a deep ovenproof skillet or pot, melt 1 tbsp of the butter with all of the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 7 minutes total. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir in the paprikas and 3/4 tsp caraway and cook for 30 seconds. Add the orange juice and 2-1/2 cups of chicken stock. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes.

At this point, you can turn the heat off and let the goulash sit for an hour off the heat, or longer in the fridge (overnight, even!) so that the flavors have some time to get to know each other and meld a bit. When you’re ready to keep going, just make the dumplings and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. If you do want to just continue on right away, add the sour cream when you add the broth and let the chicken simmer only briefly while you make the dumplings.

To make the dumplings:
In a food processor, pulse the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, and 1/4 tsp caraway. Pulse in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of the stock with half of the sour cream (1/2 cup) and drizzle over the dry ingredients; pulse until a dough forms.

Stir the other 1/2 cup sour cream into the goulash and bring that back up to a gentle simmer (if the goulash was off heat or in the fridge).

Scoop ten to twelve 3-tablespoon-size mounds of biscuit dough over the chicken (a medium ice cream scoop works great for this). Transfer the pot to the oven and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the biscuits are cooked. Serve the goulash in bowls, spooning the biscuits on top, and garnish with the dill.