Thyme Enough at Last

Chicken Paprikash (Pressure Cooker)

Total Time
about 2 hours
Active Time
45 minutes
Serves
6
Tags

If I have a signature recipe, it’s this one. I originally got it from my uncle, and I’ve been developing and adapting it for close to 15 years now. It’s very flexible—feel free to make whatever subsitutions you feel are appropriate. But do be sure to use the best paprika you can get your hands on.

The initial steps of the process can be done in your pressure cooker pot, but I’ve found mine to heat unevenly, so I generally use a separate one.

Ingredients

  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 ribs of celery, trimmed and chopped
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 5 Tbsp good paprika, divided as you like between hot and smoked
  • 1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes
  • 6 chicken thighs, bone in, skin removed

Directions

  1. Sweat carrots, onion, and celery in the bottom of a large pot with a generous pinch of salt. If you reserved the chicken skins, you can render the fat from them and use that. If not, a knob of butter will also work.
  2. Once the carrots and celery have softened, add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.
  3. Add the tomato paste and paprika, and cook for another minute or so.
  4. Add the can of tomatoes, liquid and all, and stir to combine, being sure to scrape up any fond that’s formed at the bottom of the pot.
  5. Transfer the stew to the pressure cooker pot and nestle the chicken thighs into it.
  6. Bring the cooker up to high pressure and cook for 18 minutes with a natural release. Let the stew cool to an edible temperature, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

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