Try this traditional Polish dish of chicken stew served in a bread bowl by Johnny Pusztai
Ingredients
For the pork stock:
- Dash of olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 pig trotters
- 2 pig tails
- ½ parsnip, grated
- 2 red peppers, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 chicken carcass
- 300 ml10½ fl oz water
- Salt & pepper, to taste
For the chicken porkolt:
- 680 g24 oz chicken thighs
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp caraway seeds, to taste
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 2 peppers (one of each colour)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika, to taste
- 1½ tbsp tomato puree
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 3 tbsp sour cream
For the bread bowls:
- 200 g7 oz strong wholemeal flour
- 300 g10½ oz strong white flour
- 10 g¼ oz fresh yeast
- 5 g¼ oz caraway seeds
- 5 g¼ oz sea salt
- 40 ml1½ fl oz olive oil
- 300 ml10½ fl oz water
Method: How to make Chicken porkolt
To make the pork stock:
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the onions.
Then add the pig trotters, tails, grated parsnip, peppers, garlic and chicken carcass. Pour over the water, season and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for 3 hours.
Remove from the heat and skim off any film from the surface of the stock, then strain and leave to cool.
To make the chicken porkolt:
De-bone the chicken thighs and chop into strips.
Put the caraway seeds in a pan with a dash of olive oil and toast. Once ready, take out and set aside for later.
Sweat the onions in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until soft and translucent.
Stir in half of the peppers and garlic and continue to sweat until soft.
Add the chicken and brown on all sides.
Sprinkle the paprika onto the chicken and mix together. Season to taste.
Pour in the pork stock a little at a time to keep it moist and bring to the boil.
Add the tomato purée and leave to simmer for about 40 minutes.
Make the roux by mixing the plain flour and sour cream, then add to the chicken right at the end.
To make the bread bowl:
Pre-heat the oven to 220C/Gas 7.
Add the flours, yeast, caraway seeds, salt, 10ml of the olive oil and water into a food processor and blend into a dough.
Take it out of the processor and put it in a lidded plastic box and leave to rise for 40 minutes to an hour.
When risen, knead the dough, split into 4, form into balls and put onto an oiled baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
When cooked, leave the loaves to cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.
Once cooled, cut off the top and scoop out the centre gently.
Brush the inside and outside with the remaining olive oil.
Roll the scooped out bread flat and sprinkle with olive oil and bake in the oven with the bread bowls for 15 -20 minutes at 190˚C/ gas mark 5.
To serve:
Remove the bread from the oven and when ready, spoon the porkolt into it and serve. Garnish with caraway seeds, the rustic croutons and the remaining fresh peppers.
