Chicken paprika

This recipe belongs to my auntie Debbie. After having had it for dinner several times at her house I had to recreate it at home and it has since become a staple in my repertoire. It is both delicious and thrifty, and saw me through my three years as an undergraduate at Brighton University in style.

Ingredients
Serves 3-4 people for dinner

• 6 chicken thighs skin on and bone in
• ½ a jar of paprika (I use regular paprika in those little supermarket jars, but Debbie says you can use ½ smoked paprika and ½ regular for an extra kick)
• 2 small onions roughly chopped
• Approx 200gms chopped pancetta, lardons or bacon bits
• 500gms closed cap or chestnut mushrooms roughly chopped into large chunks
• Big handful of pearl barley
• Roughly 1 pint chicken stock
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp crème fraiche or sour cream
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Rice or green salad to serve

Method

1. Preheat the over to 175 degrees C and find a big casserole pan with a lid- the kind you can put on top of the stove as well as in the oven.
2. Warm the oil in the casserole pan on the hob over a low heat and add the onions. Fry for 2 mins until softened then add the pancetta to cook through.
3. After another 2 mins remove from the heat, add the mushrooms and pearl barley and stir well.
4. Pour the paprika into a small bowl and add the chicken thighs one at a time, rubbing well to coat them all over in the spice. Place the thighs on top of the onion mixture.
5. Stir the tomato puree into the stock and pour over the chicken to just cover the thighs, you may not need all of it
6. Put the lid on and place the pan in the oven for 1 hour to cook, then remove the lid and cook for a further 40mins to an hour depending on the size of the thighs. Alternatively, you can cook the whole dish on a lower heat- say 100 degrees for 3-4 hours with the lid on if you’re going out or have guests over.
7. Remove from the oven and lift the thighs out on to the awaiting rice/plates. Stir the crème fraiche into the sauce (to avoid curdling, mix the crème fraiche with a ladle full of sauce first then add to the main pan and stir) and season to taste

8. Add some sauce and a spoonful of bacon and mushroom mix to each plate and serve