Braise Week

My Facebook Foodies group is doing braises this week. Conveniently it got cool here-perfect weather for braises. I found this recipe on epicurious.com from Bon Appetit October 2007. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Turkey-Ghoulash-with-Caraway-Noodles-240083. I have been making pumpkin bread and have cans of pumpkin and partial cans of pumpkin around so this was a perfect recipe for this week.

Pumpkin Chicken Goulash my way

~1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces

~1 teaspoon smoked paprika

~1/2 cup Hungarian paprika

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

~1 1/2 cups canned pure pumpkin

4 garlic cloves, peeled, cored and pressed

1 bay leaf

1 dried thyme sprig

~1/2 pound egg noodles like De Cecco egg fettuccine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 /2 cup low fat sour cream

Place chicken, paprika, salt, and pepper in large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag; shake. Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. Remove chicken from spice mixture (reserve spice mixture in bag). Add chicken to pot; cook 5 minutes. Place onions in bag with spice mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat. Add onions to pot; cook 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Add broth, pumpkin, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and add sour cream.

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain noodles; return to pot. Add butter and caraway seeds to noodles. Toss until butter melts. Place noodles in bowls and put goulash over the noodles.

Fantastic! Mike and I loved this and had a local Pinot Noir with it, Pey Marin Vineyards Pinot Noir, http://www.marinwines.com/pinot-noir-wines.html. It was great for a cold night and we have some leftovers too.