Romanian Chicken Stew

My husband is Romanian, which means I am essentially married to the Romanian mob. Just a joke, but I am not exactly as Eastern-European as they would prefer. I have no idea what that matters since I am German, Yugoslavian and Austrian. Anyway, this is my husband's grandmother's recipe. Everytime I make it I want to shove it in their face and say "See, I can cook!". I am sure his grandmother would be all weepy-eyed knowing I can actually cook as well as her.

This is an easy 1-hour home-cooked meal that is scrumptious! I always cook some rice because the gravy you make needs something to make it a bit lighter. I always take the skin off my chicken so I can reduce the fat content. It helps a ton! You can try it with chicken breasts, but it just does not taste the same. Using chicken legs is dangerous because of all the bones. So, use chicken thighs or a mixture of chicken thighs and breasts. It is amazing what a simple recipe this is! I hope you like it. FYI...in Romanian it is called tocana du pui.

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 diced onion
1 lb skinned chicken thighs
paprika
salt
pepper
fresh mushrooms (not necessary, but good addition)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp flour
fresh parsley

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the diced onion and cook until the onion is clear. Add the chicken to the skillet and place a hefty coating of paprika, salt and pepper on the chicken. Add the fresh mushrooms and about a cup of water. Place a lid on top of the skillet and let it simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. You seriously do not have to do anything that whole time! Just make sure there is enough water in the skillet.

Mix the flour and sour cream together in a bowl until it is smooth. When the chicken is done cooking, add the sour cream mixture to the center of the pan and try to stir it into the pan juices. Let it boil so it gets thick. Add the freshly chopped parsley, mix it in and you are done.

Serve over rice or noodles.