Dairy-free Chicken Paprikash

Feeling hungry? Turn to Hungary!

Szia baratok!

So, 2015 has officially ended… well it ended a good few days ago now so I guess that’s a bit old news isn't it? So much for keeping up to date with the current comings and goings of the world. Hopefully, I'm not the only person who is still writing 2015 on all their important work documents etc? 

Your silence assures me that you too confess to this mishap.  

It's ok, old habits die hard you know, although truth be told I'll probably still be writing last year's date come mid-March. Maybe it's because I find it hard adjusting to even the most basic changes or maybe it's because there are a good number of fond 2015 memories still fluttering around my vast barren landscape of a brain, of which I like to regularly dwell over. Ooh the second option sounds nice, let's go with that one. 

*Vision goes blurry and magical twinkly music plays like in a flashback sequence from a Friends episode*.

Last summer, myself and my elf of a friend Georgie went Inter-railing for a few months around the very eclectic continent of Europe, which for a British Citizen may not seem too adventurous compared to other places on the planet but let me assure you, it was one hell of a trip! Not to mention all the glorious food. The foooooooooooood!

There was just so much to try and I think we did a decent amount of damage.

When in Italy we ate pizza… like all the time.

In case you ever find yourself in Naples, the best pizza I've ever had came from the pizzeria Sorbillo. Just so you know :)  

When in France I tried Frogs-legs.

Tastes just like swampy chicken

And when in Hungry I ate chicken paprikash.

…

Where the F*** is the photo?

Oh yes, there isn’t one. Mighty bucket of soz (sorry). I would love say that the reason for this is because the paprikash was so intoxicatingly indulgent that my only thoughts whilst consuming it were pure flashes of euphoria mixed with sensations of being abducted by angels. However, the real reason why there is no photo of possibly one of my favourite things I have ever eaten is because of a little thing known as ‘life suckage’. You know those moments where everything seems to be going well and then something unexpected happens that changes your situation faster than road runner on crack? Yes my chums, one of those moments.

What actually occurred on that fateful day in Budapest was that after ordering some traditional Hungarian grub in the ‘old Jewish sector’ on the Pest-side of the city (Fun fact - it’s pronounced Pesht) Georgie being the organised saint that she is decided to check our train times for later that evening. We intended to get an overnight train heading to Lake Bled in Slovenia and like good little travellers had already sorted out our travel arrangements and pre-booked our hostel a few days prior (well Georgie had). As far as we were concerned everything was fine and dandy with the world. However, after Georgie consulted the ever mystical Inter-rail app it turned out that the train we had planned to catch was no longer available and the only other one leaving Budapest that day was in 1 ½ hours time. Crud.

What ensued was:

Having to inhale my beloved paprikash in the space of 5 minutes,

Running to the station sporting house-sized back-packs,

Spending over 24 hours travelling to our next destination thanks to some wonderfully delayed/messed up trains,

Getting stranded in Croatia overnight,

Missing our actual station once in Slovenia because their trains only seem to stop for a period of 5 seconds and after that its just a jump and hope for the best kind of thing,

And spending the good part of an hour making awkward conversation with a German-born drug dealer called Irvin who was all too happy to tell us that the police weren’t allowed to arrest him because he was legally classed as 'mentally disturbed'.

…

Aaah travelling memories, the good times I do miss.  

Anyway, back on topic  despite eating my chicken paprikash like a feral pig, I did still manage have multiple foodgasms at the table and even though I’m sure that this most likely made all of the other diners uncomfortable, only one thing resonated in my mind at the time. ‘When I get home, I NEED to make this’.

And so I did :) 

Traditionally, Chicken paprikash consists of a sauce made from a sweet paprika infused rue and requires ingredients such as oil, butter, and cream in order to thicken the dish. Delicious? Hell Yes! Healthy? I suppose that’s up for debate depending on what you class as ‘healthy’. For me personally, there’s a little too much saturated fat in the traditional version for it to be a regular part of my diet. Unfortunately however, my body craves parikash too much and therefore demands that it HAS to be a regular meal in my life. Hence with a few tweaks and substitutions I found a way to be able to enjoy this perfect winter comfort food every week and re-live some of those good travelling memories of yester-year.

I used cauliflower as the base for my ‘cream’ substitute. It sounds a little odd but trust me, it works just as well at thickening the sauce and providing a rich and velvety texture; plus you don’t even taste it thanks to the paprika, onions and peppers. Thumbs up for eating vegetables without even tasting them! Actually in all fairness, I do like cauliflower (gasp!) but having it as a steamed side constantly isn’t really something that’s ever going to blow my skirt up (that is if I were to start wearing skirts).

Despite being underwhelming in appearance the benefits of cauliflower are second to none. They’re rich in calcium and other minerals such as zinc, magnesium and phosphorus. They also help promote heart health, contain cholesterol lowering fibre and may potentially be linked to reducing the risk of cancer along with other members of the cruciferous family such as broccoli.

So yeah, eat up your cauliflower! If you’re really not a fan of it, just try it in this recipe and see how you feel. Trust me, it’s much easier to trick your body into getting used to new foods than you think e.g. I used to avidly despise bananas due to their mushy texture until I discovered the frozen banana ice cream trick and now I’ve worked up to eating them in their natural form on a regular basis and I love the way they feel in my mouth (that’s what she sa... No no no enough of that! Compose yourself Alex and let’s get on to the recipe). Enjoy!

Paprikash is usually served with Nokedli (a Hungarian dumpling/noodle hybrid) but honestly it works with anything. Chuck it over pasta, rice, quinoa or even just alongside some assorted veg and potatoes as pictured above. It's the best team player meal ever! 

Chicken paprikash

Serves 4

Ingredients

½ head medium cauliflower

½ cup almond milk

2-3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp olive oil or cooking spray

4 chicken breasts - diced

1 chopped onion

1 diced bell pepper

10-15 button mushrooms (or as many as you like)

2 tbsp smoked paprika (sweet Hungarian paprika is traditional but who hey)

3 tbsp oat flour

2 cups chicken stock (or stock of choice - I used a reduced salt variety)

1 can diced/crushed tomatoes
Optional: additional salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop up the cauliflower into florets and steam for 10-15 minutes or until fork tender.

Once cooked blend the florets in a food processor or blender with the peeled garlic cloves and almond milk until a thick sauce consistency is reached, set aside.

In a pan, add in oil/cooking spray and diced chicken and cook for 5 minutes until the chicken is sealed and just starting to brown.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add in the onions and cook for 2 minutes before adding in the peppers and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes before adding in the paprika and the oat flour, stirring to coat.

After a couple of minutes whisk in the stock bit by bit to avoid lumps forming before adding the tomatoes and the chicken.

Bring to a boil before turning heat to low. Allow to simmer covered for twenty minutes, after which remove from heat and stir through the cauliflower sauce.

Adjust seasonings to taste if desired and plate up!