There is a mysterious story surrounding my Grandpa Imre Remenyik. I don't know all the details. Something about escaping from Hungry during war time. I'm not 100% sure and I am not sure anyone else in our family is either! With his very broken English, he was a sweet and gentle man of few words. When he ordered water at a restaurant, it sounded like he was ordering "vodka". The waitress would say, "Vodka?" "No!!! WATER!", he would say. ( But it still sounded like "vodka".)
He made Paprikash for us several times when we came to visit and it quickly became a favorite. Grandma Jo graciously shared his recipe with me years ago, after Grandpa passed. I think of them both every time I make it.
Hungarian Paprikash (feeds 4-6)
You'll need:
olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
6 cloves of garlic, diced
2 cans of diced tomatoes, with juice
6-8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 polska kielbasa, sliced
1 heaping TBS. Hungarian paprika (regular paprika will do if that's all you have)
salt and pepper
Sour Cream
Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add potatoes and diced tomatoes, mix well. Sprinkle mixture with paprika, you want to basically cover the potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Cover and simmer on low until potatoes are mostly cooked. (time varies, ~30-45 minutes, depending on how large your potatoes are). Stir often. Add sliced sausage.* Continue cooking until potatoes are completely done. Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream.**
* You can substitute chicken for the sausage for fewer calories.
**My grandpa's recipe adds about 8ounces of sour cream to the finished dish, in the pot. I stopped doing it this way when I found out about my daughter's dairy allergy. Either way is fine!
Enjoy!
