Balkan Village Chicken Kavarma with Peppers and Mushrooms 🍗✨

Description

Balkan Village Chicken Kavarma is a juicy tavern-style main dish with tender chicken, sweet peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, garlic, paprika, and a glossy pan sauce. It tastes rustic, warming, and deeply comforting, with the kind of rich Balkan aroma that makes bread on the table feel absolutely necessary. ✨

Hook ✨

Tender chicken, sweet peppers, browned mushrooms, smoky paprika, and a rich tomato pan sauce make this Balkan kavarma bold, cozy, and spoon-worthy. 🍲

Ingredients

• Chicken base 🍗
• 🍗 750 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into large pieces (1.65 lb)
• 🧂 5 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.18 oz)
• ⚫ 2 g black pepper (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🌶️ 3 g sweet paprika (1½ tsp / 0.1 oz)
• 🫒 30 ml olive oil (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• Vegetable kavarma base 🫑
• 🧅 220 g yellow onions, thinly sliced (1½ cups / 7.8 oz)
• 🫑 300 g red and yellow peppers, sliced (2 cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🍄 250 g brown mushrooms, thickly sliced (3 cups / 8.8 oz)
• 🧄 15 g garlic, finely chopped (5 cloves / 0.53 oz)
• 🍅 300 g crushed tomatoes or chopped ripe tomatoes (1¼ cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🫒 30 ml olive oil (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🌶️ 4 g sweet paprika (2 tsp / 0.14 oz)
• 🌶️ 2 g smoked paprika (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🍃 2 bay leaves
• 🧂 4 g fine sea salt (¾ tsp / 0.14 oz)
• ⚫ 1 g black pepper (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• Finish 🌿
• 🌿 20 g fresh parsley, chopped (½ cup / 0.7 oz)
• 🍋 10 ml lemon juice (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 🫒 15 ml olive oil, for gloss (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🥖 350 g crusty bread, for serving (12.3 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Season the chicken 🍗
2. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl. Add salt, black pepper, sweet paprika, and olive oil. Toss well and let the chicken rest for 10 min while preparing the vegetables.
3. 2️⃣ Brown the chicken 🔥
4. Heat a wide heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear for 5–6 min, turning once, until golden on the outside. Remove to a plate. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked yet.
5. 3️⃣ Soften the onions 🧅
6. Add olive oil to the same pan. Add the onions and cook for 6 min, stirring often, until soft, sweet, and lightly golden around the edges.
7. 4️⃣ Add peppers and mushrooms 🫑
8. Add the sliced peppers and mushrooms. Cook for 8–9 min until the mushrooms brown slightly and the peppers begin to collapse into the sauce base.
9. 5️⃣ Build the paprika tomato sauce 🍅
10. Add garlic, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper. Stir for 45 sec, then add the tomatoes. Simmer for 5 min until glossy and fragrant.
11. 6️⃣ Return and simmer 🍲
12. Return the chicken and its juices to the pan. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 18 min, stirring once or twice, until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickens around it.
13. 7️⃣ Finish fresh ✨
14. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, and the final olive oil. Let the kavarma rest for 5 min before serving with crusty bread.

Total Time

⏱ Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 42 min
🛋 Rest: 15 min
⏰ Total: 1 h 17 min

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