Chicken Paprika
– How to Cheat

I recently hit upon this utterly lovely, very classy sauce called Tomato Frito – just pure ingredients melted together, which cuts out having to make a sauce from scratch when you simply have no time. I have a feeling we're going to see quite a lot more of this ingredient, so stock up. Whilst there is the minimum of cooking here, because of the sauce and the ready-roasted peppers, it's all a real doddle – it won't take more than about 15 minutes of your time then leaves you free whilst it cooks happily all on its own. I would serve this with some nutty brown basmati rice and a green salad with a sharp, lemony dressing or, instead of rice, it also goes well with green tagliatelle tossed in butter with a sprinkle of poppy seeds.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 free-range chicken thighs
1 level dessertspoon hot paprika (Bart's picante pimentón) or 1 level tablespoon ground paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
6 oz (175 g) roasted red peppers from a jar (Karyatis brand), drained and each pepper roughly sliced into 1 inch (2.5 cm) strips
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ x 560 g jar Heinz Tomato Frito
¼ pint (150 ml) dry white wine
2 rounded tablespoons crème fraîche
pinch ground paprika, to serve
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F, (180°C).

You will also need a small flameproof casserole about 4½ pints (2.6 litres) in capacity.

First of all heat the oil in the casserole over a high heat and season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Then, when the oil gets really hot and begins to shimmer, fry the chicken thighs to brown them well on all sides; each thigh needs to be a lovely golden brown colour all over. Then using a draining spoon transfer them to a plate and drain away all but about one tablespoon of the fat. Now add the onion to the casserole, turn the heat down and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until they are softened and nicely browned at the edges.

Next return the chicken to the pan with the sliced peppers and garlic, then pour in the tomato sauce, the dry white wine and the paprika. Now stir and bring it up to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Then remove the casserole from the oven. Swirl in the crème fraîche to give a marbled creamy effect, sprinkle with a little paprika and serve straight from the casserole.

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