Paprika Project

 

Paprika – garnish or spice or botanically speaking a fruit in the berry family. Yes a berry.

From the website www.livescience.com: Botanically speaking, a fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant, whereas vegetables are all other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems. By those standards, seedy outgrowths such as apples, squash and, yes, tomatoes are all fruits, while roots such as beets, potatoes and turnips, leaves such as spinach, kale and lettuce, and stems such as celery and broccoli are all vegetables.

The outlook is quite different in culinary terms, however. A lot of foods that are (botanically speaking) fruits, but which are savory rather than sweet, are typically considered vegetables by chefs. This includes such botanical fruits as eggplants, bell peppers and tomatoes.

From the website www.sciencealert.com: Berries are fruits that come from a single ovary but have multiple seeds. Which means grapes, bananas and capsicums all different types of berries. 

Up until a few years ago, I only considered paprika a garnish. Lightly sprinkled over deviled eggs or potato salad it added a nice color to the dish. Even the famous Hungarian dish chicken paprikash seemed only colored by the paprika. The sour cream seemed to be the main event for flavor.

Then for no particular reason, I read more about paprika. I guess I had never even realized it was a chile pepper plant also known as Capsicum annuum. Most notable is the Hungarian and Spanish paprika. Above mentioned paprikash and goulash are Hungarian faire and Spanish paella and chorizo spotlight paprika. But isn’t it just for color?

Well, if the paprika in the cupboard is really old, then yes, it’s only going to give color to a dish and the possibility of a dusty finish. Purchasing a new container of paprika certainly ups the flavor and leads it more into the spice category.

So then I changed my mind and decided that paprika was a spice. But that’s not fully accurate either. It’s a chile pepper and that’s a berry. Ripe paprika peppers are harvested, dried and then ground to a powder.

As a vegetable gardener, peppers are planted every summer. Usually, one hot pepper and two to three each of poblanos and sweet Italian peppers. A few years ago, I discovered that you could grow paprika peppers in my gardening zone (8b). I usually plant six alma paprika plants, yes six. One cannot have too much paprika! Alma peppers are sweet peppers. I prefer sweet paprika. There are hot paprika peppers. And one can smoke the peppers to get, well, smoked paprika.

After harvesting the ripe peppers, I slice them up with my mandoline and dry them. Then grind them to a powder.

What to do with paprika. Make you own chili powder and make chili. Make you own rub and use it on ribs. Make paella. Make goulash. Make deviled eggs. Make romesco sauce. Make chicken paprikash!

Chicken Paprikash – inspired by Cooks Illustrated recipe from March/April 2003

 Serving Size: 4

 3         pounds skinless chicken thighs

           kosher salt

           black pepper

  1       teaspoon vegetable oil

  2       cups onion, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

  1       cup red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

  1        cup green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

  3 1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika

  1/4    teaspoon marjoram

  1        tablespoon flour

  1/2    cup dry white wine

  14      ounces tomato

  1/3    cup sour cream

  2        tablespoon parsley, chopped

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 300 degrees. Season both sides of chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Add 4 chicken thighs and cook without moving them until well-browned, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer; transfer to large plate. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs and transfer to plate; set aside.

Add onion to fat in Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add red and green peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned and peppers are softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons paprika, marjoram and flour; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, scraping pot bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits; stir in tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt. Add chicken pieces and accumulated juices, submerging them in vegetables; bring to a simmer, then cover and place pot in oven. Cook until chicken is no longer pink when cut into with paring knife, about 30 minutes. Remove pot from oven. At this point, stew can be cooled to room temperature, transferred to an airtight container, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring to simmer over medium-low heat before proceeding.

Combine sour cream and remaining 1/2 tablespoon paprika in small bowl. Place chicken on individual plates. Stir a few tablespoons of hot sauce into sour cream, then stir mixture back into sauce in pot. Spoon enriched sauce and peppers over chicken, sprinkle with parsley. Serve with egg noodles or more traditionally spaetzle.

 

Spaetzle – inspired by Tyler Florence

 Serving Size: 6

  1     cup flour

  1     teaspoon salt

  1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  2     large eggs

  1/4 cup milk

  3     tablespoons butter

  2     tablespoons chives or parsley, minced

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg-milk mixture. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides and combine well; the dough should be smooth and thick. Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot, then reduce to a simmer. To form the spaetzle, hold a large holed colander or slotted spoon over the simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spatula or spoon. Do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the pot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Dump the spaetzle into a colander and give it a quick rinse with cool water.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the spaetzle; tossing to coat. Cook the spaetzle for 1 to 2 minutes to give the noodles some color, and then sprinkle with the chopped chives and season with salt and pepper before serving.