THE ETHNIC COOK : A Lot of Paprikash

Helen Stefanac’s hillside home in Glendale may seem a long way from the farm near Karlovac in Croatia where she grew up. But that distance evaporates when Stefanac steps into the kitchen to prepare dishes from her homeland.

Stefanac’s chicken paprikash is one of her best dishes. She often serves it at dinner parties--it’s that special. To her mother, though, it was a thrifty way to make one chicken feed many people. What extended the dish was polenta, a low-cost accompaniment made from home-grown corn that was dried, then taken to a mill for grinding.

The noodles or rice that Stefanac serves with paprikash would have been luxuries for her mother. Most of what the family consumed--milk, wheat, corn and a variety of fruits and vegetables--came from their farm. And much of the produce was pickled, preserved or canned for later use. Cabbage was turned into sauerkraut and plums into brandy ( slivovica ). Even the sour cream for the paprikash was home-produced.

The other essentials of the sauce are sauteed onions and paprika. To make the texture velvety smooth, Stefanac’s mother laboriously pureed the onions through a sieve. Stefanac’s paprikash is much easier; she uses a food processor.

Although Stefanac has updated the recipe, the taste remains authentic. For accompaniments, she suggests coleslaw, green peas and rutabaga.

HELEN STEFANAC’S CHICKEN PAPRIKASH

1/4 cup butter

1 chicken breast, quartered

2 chicken thighs

2 chicken drumsticks

1 large onion, chopped

Water

1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika, about

1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream

2 tablespoons flour

Salt

White pepper

Heat butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and cook, uncovered, until browned. Remove chicken from pan and drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat. Add onion and 1/4 cup water to skillet and cook until onion is tender.

Puree onion in food processor and return to skillet. Add paprika. Immediately add chicken and toss to coat with paprika mixture. Add 1 cup water, cover and simmer very slowly until chicken is tender, about 25 minutes. Add more water if needed so there is at least 1 cup liquid remaining when chicken is done.

Beat sour cream with flour until smooth. Gradually beat in hot liquid from chicken until mixture is warm. Then return all to chicken and simmer until thickened and flour is cooked, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and white pepper toward end of cooking time. Serve with noodles, rice or polenta. Makes 4 servings.

Note: To make veal paprikash, substitute veal stew meat for chicken.