Sunday lunches at my grandmother’s were a wonderful constant in my childhood. The menu rarely veered from Wiener Schnitzel or Chicken Paprikash. Born in 1902, into what was then the Austro Hungarian Empire, those dishes were the classics from the region and still two of my favorites. To this day, the aroma of sour cream and dill takes me back to her flat in London. Unfailingly cheerful, she cooked for us well into her 90’s and I regret never asking her to teach me to make those dishes, wrongly assuming she’d always be around to make them for us. I’ve loved trying recipes for Chicken Paprikash from old Hungarian cookbooks that I’ve found including one written by Maria Flores, my father’s guardian during the war, sentimentally entitled “Cooking for Love”.

As the weather turns and we begin to crave hearty comfort food, it’s one of the first dishes I make each September, trying a slightly different version each time. This latest version not only made use of the incredibly juicy airline chicken breasts from Porter & York but it even got the ultimate stamp of approval from my brother, not known for effusive compliments on my cooking. He thoroughly endorsed it after taking a forkful of leftovers straight from the fridge. I hope my grandmother would have approved too.

Chicken Paprikash 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 Airline Chicken Breasts (you can also substitute 8 bone-in chicken thighs with skin)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

3 teaspoons of flour, divided

1 heaped tablespoon of Hungarian paprika

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 (14 oz) can of tomatoes

1/2 cup of chicken stock

1 green pepper, cut into strips with seeds removed

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon of Hungarian Paprika Salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large dutch oven, heat the oil. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and fry until golden brown, starting with skin side down (about 5 minutes each side). Fry in batches if they don’t all fit – it’s important not to overcrowd the pan.

3. When all the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate.

4. Add the onion to the remaining fat and fry until soft for approximately 10 minutes.

5. Stir in half the flour, the paprika and the cayenne and continue stirring for about 2 minutes until all the juices have been absorbed.

6. Return the chicken to the pan along with any juices from the plate. Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer.

7. If using thighs, cover and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Add the green pepper and return to the oven (covered) for another 30 minutes. If using airline breasts, add the green pepper and cook (covered) for just 30 minutes.

8. Remove from oven. In a small bowl, mix the remaining flour with the sour cream. Then add the flour mixture to the sauce.

9. Simmer while stirring for about 2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

10. Plate and finish by sprinkling with fresh dill and paprika salt. I like to serve it, as my grandmother did, with spaetzle topped with a little butter.

I remember very clearly the first time I ate this dish. It was love at first sight. The day was July 4th and I was in Cape Cod. My friend Margot had just returned from a trip to Italy and she was feeding a large group of us with recipes she picked up in Tuscany. Like a bee to honey, I found myself ogling at a platter of baguettes that had been stuffed with pork, wrapped in prosciutto, drizzled with oil and roasted. The taste was even better than I had hoped; the crust was salty and crunchy, the bread was soaked through with roasting juices and herbs while the pork remained tender, insulated in all that deliciousness. Absolute genius!

Margot generously shared the recipe with me and I’ve been impressing friends with it ever since. It’s perfect for a large group as you can make it in advance as it’s actually best served at room temperature. Recently, while staying with friends for the weekend, I made it for a large family lunch. Because so little work is involved, my friend Stephen and I managed to go for a hike, a swim and have a leisurely time reading the papers before everyone arrived for lunch. By the time he had set the table, the pork was in the oven and the rest was history.

Herbed Pork Tenderloin in a Baguette

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin

Sprinkle of sea salt

1 heaping tablespoon Herbes de Provence (We use Taste of Provence)

8 slices of prosciutto

1 good French baguette (not too skinny- about 3 inches in width)

Extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)

(String to truss the baguette)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Pat the pork dry and season lightly with salt then sprinkle half of the Taste of Provence all over the pork.

3. Next, wrap 4 slices of prosciutto around the pork.

5. Cut the baguette so it’s the same length as the pork. Then cut the baguette lengthwise but not all the way through, scooping out as much of the inside of the bread as you can.

6. Drizzle olive oil inside the bread on both sides and sprinkle with the remaining Taste of Provence.

7. Place the pork inside the loaf and then wrap the remaining slices of prosciutto around the outside of the baguette.

8. Tie with string along the length of the baguette to keep in place and then drizzle more olive oil over the baguette on both sides – be generous.

9. Roast for 40 – 45 mins – turning once to make sure both sides are crispy.

10. Let rest for at least 10 minutes. Slice before serving.