Hungarian paprika potato stew
Chunks of potato simmered in a brick-red paprika and onion broth until soft and saucy, a Hungarian comfort stew with a spoonful of sour cream on top.
- 45 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.77 a serving
- 290 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lb yukon gold potatoes
- 12 oz smoked kielbasa, sliced into coins (optional)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup sour cream (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 cups water
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 bay leave
Each serving has about 290 calories, 6 g protein, 51 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $1.77 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No yukon gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No smoked kielbasa? Precooked chicken sausage works.
- No sour cream? Plain greek yogurt works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onions and the garlic. the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch chunks.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. If you’re using kielbasa, brown the slices 4 minutes, until and hot through, then lift them onto a plate.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min
Food safety: Raw pork sausage is done at 160°F and raw chicken or turkey sausage at 165°F. Precooked sausage just needs heating until hot all the way through.
Turn the heat to medium, add the onions and cook, stirring, 8 minutes, until soft and .
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the garlic, paprika, smoked paprika and tomato paste for 30 seconds.
Dolly’s tip: Off the heat, because paprika turns bitter if it scorches.Add the potatoes, 3 cups water, salt, pepper and bay leaf. over high heat, then , cover and 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 20 min
Stir the kielbasa back in, then mash a few potatoes against the side of the pot so the broth turns thick and saucy.
Fish out the bay leaf, taste for salt, and serve with sour cream and parsley.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
