Chicken Goulash

Served with gnocchi, this is awesome cold weather comfort food.  It also goes with egg noodles, spatzle, rice, potatoes, and even over perogies.  I found recipes with dumplings,which I would like to try someday.

I use a large cast iron enamel pot.  My wife doesn't eat red meat, so I used chicken.

2 onions. - I like to use sweet Vidalia

1 head of garlic

4-8 tbsp Butter

1 red pepper

Cook until the onion starts to dissolve

Add:

1/4c of paprika

1/2tbsp Cayenne (you can do less, but this is supposed to be spicy)

Salt and pepper

4c of Pacific mushroom broth

2 can of tomato paste

I used a hand blender to purée this the rest of the way, but it could be left chunky.

Add a bay leaf

1tbsp of dried Marjoram

2tbsp or more of caraway seed.  I did crush them a little first.

Lightly flour 2-3lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs and quickly brown in a pan with butter.  Don't cook it all the way through, just a couple of minutes a side in a hot buttered frypan.

After browning the chicken, put it in the pot with the onion and pepper mixture.

Slow cook the chicken.

After a couple of hours, stirring ocassionally add:

Mushrooms - I like Shitaki, about 2c diced

After the mushrooms are cooked through: (about 20-30 minutes)

2c of sour cream.

Sprinkle cayenne or paprika on top as a garnish.  You can also garnish with sour cream.

When I had only a small amount left, I thinned the sauce into a soup consistency.  Other things like carrots, potatoes, or peas could be added to the stew.