Escape From Romania: $30, 2 Suitcases and the Best Chicken Paprikas Recipe

Photo: Ashley Armstrong Skatoff

The taste of home. Chicken paprikas, with nokedli and a cooling cucumber salad, is an easy, delicious dish that’s perfect for any season and occasion.

When Agnes Rethy and her family escaped communist Romania in 1986, they fled their home in Transylvania with two suitcases, $30, and the recipes of their Hungarian culture.

“It’s that classic immigrant story,” said Rethy, whose parents are of Hungarian descent. “It still makes me cry when I think what my parents went through.”

Now living in Westport, Conn., Rethy, 38, recently shared with us her recipe for chicken paprikas, one of Hungary’s most famous dishes, a close second to beef goulash. The basic ingredients – imported Hungarian paprika, peppers, tomatoes and onions – serve as the foundation for many traditional Hungarian recipes.

This one is a staple in Rethy’s house and one she makes as much as she can.

Her three kids clamor for it, and each time she serves the dish, it’s a celebration of family, culture and warm childhood memories that even the most brutal conditions couldn’t crush.

“My family and I were always passionate about Hungarian food,” said Rethy, who is writing a cookbook of traditional and updated Hungarian recipes. “You tend to focus more on food and your culture when you’re a minority. That pride is something we wanted to keep alive.”

Photo: Ashley Armstrong Skatoff

Rethy, at her Connecticut home, is currently writing a cookbook of traditional and updated Hungarian dishes.

As members of Romania’s minority Hungarian population, Rethy’s parents, Csaba and the late Olga, saw little hope of a bright future for their two daughters. Chances of a university education or a decent-paying job were slim. Living standards throughout Romania during the ‘80s were among the lowest in Europe. Food, electricity, and fuel were rationed. Strict social controls, such as censorship and the use of informants, increased. Political dissidents disappeared. “There were so many things that made us leave,” Rethy said.

On a summer night in 1986, they escaped. Rethy’s parents had heard of a lenient border guard working outside the village of Bors who was allowing Romanians to cross into Hungary. With no time to lose, the family packed what they could carry and drove to the crossing. The border guard they had heard about happened to be working that night. He let them pass.

“I remember being in the back of the car, trying my hardest not to cry,” said Rethy, who was 10 years old at the time. “It was so frightening because we didn’t know what would happen.”

Photo: Ashley Armstrong Skatoff

Rethy starts her nokedli, also called spätzle, an egg noodle or dumpling that serves as a perfect complement to chicken paprikas and goulash.

The family made its way to Austria, spending a week in the refugee camp at Traiskirchen and a year in the rural village of Hipping. They eventually received U.S. asylum and immigrated to Fairfield, Conn., where they had extended family.

“We had to leave everything we owned in Romania,” said Rethy, who works as a set decorator and prop stylist for Martha Stewart. “But we still had the recipes that were passed down from my great-grandmother and grandmother.”

Agnes Rethy’s Chicken Paprikas
You can use hot or sweet Hungarian paprika in this dish, depending on preference, but make sure it’s a high-quality imported version. Domestic brands typically have little flavor. Rethy uses sweet paprika when making this dish for her three kids. She serves her chicken paprikas with nokedli, a simple yet delicious Hungarian dumpling, and a cucumber salad (both recipes below).  
“When I make this for adults, I definitely use hot Hungarian paprika and serve it with the cucumber salad to cool the palate,” she said.
Here’s Rethy’s original recipe, as it appeared on Marthastewart.com

? 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
? 8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
? Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
? 2 small onions, coarsely chopped
? 3 Hungarian wax, Italian frying, or Cubanello peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
? 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
? 8 whole peeled canned tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, coarsely chopped
? 1/3 cup sour cream, plus more for garnish
? 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
? Nokedli, for serving
? Cucumber Salad, for serving

Directions
?  Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Generously season chicken thighs with salt and pepper; add chicken to Dutch oven and cook, turning once, until deep golden brown, about 8 minutes per side. Remove chicken from Dutch oven and set aside.
? Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to Dutch oven, if necessary. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add peppers and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Return chicken to Dutch oven and sprinkle chicken and vegetables with paprika. Add tomatoes and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer until chicken is very tender, about 40 minutes.
?  Remove Dutch oven from heat; remove chicken from Dutch oven and keep warm. Using an immersion blender, blend vegetables and cooking liquid until smooth. Whisk in sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to Dutch oven and keep warm until ready to serve. Garnish with parsley and additional sour cream, and serve with nokedli and cucumber salad.

Agnes’ Nokedli
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
Coarse salt
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions:
? In a large bowl, whisk together flour and 2 teaspoons salt. Make a well in the center; crack eggs into center well. Using a fork, beat eggs; gradually add flour to eggs until fully combined and a dry, shaggy dough forms. Add 3/4 cup water and stir with a wooden spoon until a rough, very sticky dough forms. If dough seems too dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons additional water as necessary.
?  Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil; add olive oil. Working with about 1/2 cup dough at a time, press dough through a spaetzle maker or a large-holed colander, set about 3 inches from water, into boiling water. Cook until nokedli float to top, about 2 minutes. Transfer cooked nokedli to a warm serving bowl. Toss with butter and season with salt. Serve.

Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
1 English cucumber
   Coarse salt
   2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
   1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
   Pinch of freshly ground pepper
   3 tablespoons coarsely chopped dill

Directions:
? Slice cucumbers paper thin using the thinnest setting on a mandoline. Place cucumber slices in a colander set over a bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine; transfer to refrigerator and let drain for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
? Meanwhile, combine 1/3 cup water, vinegar, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
? Remove cucumbers from refrigerator and squeeze cucumbers to extract as much liquid as possible. Place cucumbers in a serving bowl and toss with reserved vinegar mixture and dill; serve.

Watch Agnes Rethy prepare her classic recipe with Martha Stewart on “The Martha Stewart Show.”