Chicken goulash with biscuit dumplings

Chicken goulash with biscuit topping in a white bowl.

If you want to make something so fulfilling, creamy, and dreamy, make this dish. The flour coating of the chicken, which I normally don’t do (too fattening) and the sour cream in the dough and the sauce (also fattening) makes this so rich and satisfying. Combine all that softness with the crispness of the biscuits and the spiciness of the sauce — so so good.

This is more of a weekend dinner as it’s a bit more time consuming. And with another possible snow storm on the way, this is perfect cold weather food. You know you made a good dinner when your husband rolls over in bed the next morning and the first thing he says is, “That was a damn good dinner last night!”

Alright!

So here you go – this recipe is based on a recipe from Food and Wine magazine, but I have altered it. Their recipe calls for 2 tbs. of hot paprika. Well I made it like that the first time and we were all oozing sweat from the top of our heads!! I thought for sure it must be a typo but apparently not, as they just reprinted it as a favorite recipe in the recent March issue. Along with that, I have made other changes as well. Don’t be frightened by the dough – it’s really easy. Enjoy!

CHICKEN GOULASH WITH BISCUIT DUMPLINGS
– serves 4

2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, (about 4 or 5) trimmed of all fat
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 cup sour cream, divided
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs. hot Hungarian paprika
1 tbs. sweet paprika
3/4 tsp. caraway seeds
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 425°. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour. In a deep skillet, melt 1 tbs. of the butter in the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Pulse in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle the 1/2 cup of the stock and the 1/2 cup of the sour cream over the dry ingredients; pulse until a dough forms.

Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir in the paprika and caraway seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 cup of sour cream and stir until smooth. Sprinkle the thyme over everything and bring to a boil.

Scoop twelve 3-tablespoon-size mounds of biscuit dough over the chicken. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the biscuits are cooked. Turn on the broiler and broil for about 2 minutes, until the biscuits are golden. Serve the goulash in bowls, spooning the biscuits on top.