A paprika feast! happy new year

Happy new year everyone:) I finally got myself back in the blogging chair. Just to geographically orient you all, I am currently in Cambridge, MA. Otherwise also known to myself as 'Cakeand' in winter.  Everything gets so covered in white. It is like pixie dust all over! Last year even the river froze (So I lived in place by the river..quite literally) and I got to walk right across it.  Walk right across a frozen river- that experience was ethereal to a tropical person like me! Here..Take a look

Anyway, I can get quite carried away talking if frozen rivers and before I do so, back to the blog.  So I am back here for a month or so to so some analysis. And here in starts the fun. I am currently occupying the house of a friend who is away on vacation. And have you ever felt the need to look into kitchen closets of a place you are in just for a few days? When it still does not have your signature all over it? I feel that urge. And it gives me such a confirmed peek into lives of people that live in. The type of spices and grocery shows me what they eat, snack on, how frequently, and so much more...I guess archeology is like that. From the thousands of year old pantry remains they make up entire civilizations and kingdoms!

So the friend whose place I am staying at present is from Hungary. And I have mentioned before and I will say it again, Hungarians know their paprika and make use of it in so many many different ways!! And I am glad that I got to know the varied uses of Paprika from a Hungarian who is also a great cook. Her name is Maria. Her pantry is stuffed with good smelling and good looking paprika. There is hot paprika, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, ...and this paprika  and that paprika and good , better , best..all kinds. And for a moment I thought I would just have to use these and there might not be that big a difference that my regular whole food paprika.

I was wrong. A simple dish tasted gourmet. And R said that it just might be the contender of my best drumstick dish ever.

So here it is...A paprika feast.

Ingredients

6-8 chicken drumsticks.

1 big onion

1 big green bell pepper. Coarsely cubed

1 big tomato. Coarsely cubed

4-5 cloves of garlic. Crushed or minced

2 tbsf of ground parsley

1 tbsf Dill

2 tbsf Marjoram. This is a herb whose awesome flavors I just came to appreciate. I totally recommend it. Totally

1 tbsf powdered mustard. You can also use good quality brown mustard.

1.5 tbsf flour

3 tbsf smoked paprika

2 tbsf hot Paprika

1 tbsf sweet paprika

Mix all of the above. I call it 'Papri- paprika' :)

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

3-4 tbsf good quality Extra Virgin olive oil. I use the light variety.

Here is what you do!

The chicken

Heat your oven to 450F. While it is getting toasty in there, perp your chicken babies. Lay them side to side on a shallow oven friendly tray. Be ruthless and make slices in those legs. Be erratic. Its actually fun :). Season all sides with pepper and salt. Marinade it with  flour, dill, marjoram, 2-3 tbsf crushed garlic, 3-4 tbsf of the paprika mix, 2-3 tbsf olive oil and mustard. Roast the chicken in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 350F and continue baking for another 10 minutes. This technique allows you to get a crunchy  feeling into the chicken without drying it out. Take out the tray and cover it with a foil to prevent the heat escape while you prep your veggies!

Veggies

Heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Saute your onions, tomato, bell pepper with the remaining garlic, lightly for a few minutes. Make sure they all retain their color, crunch and texture. Add the remaining paprika mix and the parsley. Saute for a minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Add your veggies over the chicken and serve! The paprika will be just super fantastic with some good quality bread. And the colors that go with it. Gorgeous to look at and yummmy to boot too. And healthy too. Your getaway to Hungary over  a paprika feast :)

Happy eating and healthy living