Chicken & Chanterelle Pancakes: A Twist on Hungarian Comfort Food

Get ready to try a new spin on an old favourite! We're introducing Chicken & Chanterelle Pancakes – a tasty blend of flavours put together by cooking enthusiast Joseph Szakács, who made the recipe during the UK MasterChef audition! #MasterChefUK

This dish brings a fresh touch to traditional Hungarian food, mixing tender chicken, earthy chanterelle mushrooms with a zesty wine and forest berry sauce and a special pine-infused curd cheese on top.

Ingredients:

For the Pancake Filling:

• 6 bone-in chicken thighs (with skin)

• 1.5 L homemade chicken stock

3 medium heirloom tomatoes, chopped

• 5-6 Hungarian Yellow Wax Paprika, finely chopped

• 3 medium white onions, minced

• 4-5 cloves of garlic, grated

• Spices: Black pepper, Hot Paprika, Sweet Paprika, Ground Cumin/Caraway, Salt

• Lard or cooking oil

• 200 g fresh chanterelle mushrooms, cut into cubes

• Fresh green hot pepper (for serving)

• Rich sour cream (12% fat or higher)

• Flour (to thicken)

• Bay leaves

• Fresh parsley (for a pop of colour)

• Butter

For the Crepe Batter:

• 300g all-purpose flour

• 3 eggs

• 350 ml milk

• 300 ml sparkling water

For the Wine and Forest Berry Reduction:

• 100g raspberries

• 100g blueberries

• 100g blackberries

• 200 ml red wine

For the Pine-Infused Curd Cheese:

• Curd cheese (sheep or goat), wrapped in fresh pine bark for a few days. If you struggle finding the bark the dish works well just with curd cheese ;)

Method:

1. Sear the Chicken:

• Heat up the fat in a pan and add the minced onions and garlic.

• Place the chicken thighs in the pan (skin down) and let them get a nice

golden-brown colour.

• Turn the thighs and sear for 3-5 min.

• Add chopped tomatoes and the Hungarian Yellow Wax Paprika. (if you don't have the Hungarian pepper you can use normal yellow peppers - the recipe just becomes a little bit sweeter)

2. Cook Until Tender:

• Transfer everything to a big pot or pressure cooker.

• Add homemade chicken stock and spices, then let it cook until it's just right. (around 30 min in a normal pot)

3. Make the Crepe Batter: Whilst the chicken cooks start preparing the crepes.

• In a big bowl mix flour, eggs, milk, and sparkling water to get a smooth batter.

• Heat up a pan and place some butter or oil (pro tip: use spray oil it you want to avid the crepe becoming too greasy).

• Using a ladle put the batter on the pan and make some thin crepes – make a few extra, just in case!

4. Make the Tangy Sauce:

• Put the berries in a sauce pot on a low heat to make a tasty sauce.

• Once the berries are reduced add red wine and sugar and let it cook until it's thick and delicious.

5. Make the Creamy Sauce:

The chicken should be ready by now...

• Take half of the paprikash sauce form the chicken put and place it in a blender or bowl.

• Blend the sauce, then add the sour cream and flour to make it creamy.

6. Plating time! Put the chicken filling on the crepes and roll them up.

• with a fork or your hands shred the chicken as if it was 'pulled pork' and mix it with the remaining paprikash sauce (non blended).

• Place the pulled chicken in the middle of

a pancake and roll it up.

• Put 1 or 2 stuffed pancakes on a plate and pour the blended paprikash sauce on top.

• Drizzle the berry sauce on top and sprinkle the special pine-infused curd cheese.

• Finish with some chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Honestly, this is an Hungarian family favourite and it doesn't matter too much how you plate it or how much you blend the sauce! As any traditional recipes there are 100s of different variations...so upload your pictures!! Looking forward to see your 'family take' on it!