Have you ever just needed comfort food…of course you have. Everyone just needs something sometime. A real comfort dish in my household has always been Chicken Paprikash. There are lots and lots of versions of this dish floating around and of course I’ve tweaked mine over the years to meet my tastes.
And it wasn’t until recently that I took a bite of the rice portion of the dish after I added some smoked paprika (not a usual ingredient) that I proclaimed…”I want this in a taco”. Yep, I have always been the “taco lady” but especially since I have delved into a year of culinary trends investigating smokey tacos and fermented foods for my work with Sargento (an absolute dream job for me).
So with my second bite of this smokey rice I immediately had flashbacks of my childhood vacation home in the Southern California mountains. We had a large, red wood burning stove that heated the whole cabin. There was more snow there than we ever knew what to do with. At a 7200 foot elevation, it was one of highest subdivisions in the San Bernardino National Forest.
We would arrive there on the weekends and it would take my Dad hours and hours to just shovel the path to get into the house. The stove would be lit immediately upon entering and would give off this smokey, toasty aroma that seemed to fill every breath we took (in a good way).
One bite of this rice, with the smokey paprika addition, took me back to those memorable days in the mountains where there was endless sledding, long walks in the forest and very hardy and heart-warming meals….all with a bit of smokey flavor. I honestly never knew how much I missed those days until I tasted this. Isn’t it amazing how food has the power of unlocking memories that have otherwise been locked up and stored for so long.
To add another layer of smokey goodness to these unreal tacos, I used Sargento Pepper Jack cheese. Made with jalapeno and habanero chilis, this cheese rocks a taco with it’s smokey taste and heat.
I can honestly say this is one of my favorite tacos of all time. A new staple in this house and hopefully yours too.
No words for this goodness. And one day I’m going to share with you all my absolutely favorite hot sauce, I put it on absolutely everything!
Smokey Chicken Paprikash Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- table salt
- black pepper
- white pepper
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup minced shallot
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 cups water
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 12 yellow corn tortillas
- 2 cups Sargento Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese
- 2 avocados diced
- juice of one lime
- hot sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Generously season chicken thighs with salt and black and white peppers. Set aside.
- In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, add butter. Once melted, add chicken and brown on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside, keeping warm. Turn heat to low and add shallots, saute for one minute. Add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Add sweet and smokey paprika, cayenne and turmeric; toast for about 30 seconds. Add water, deglazing pan. Return chicken to the water and bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low, simmering for 5 minutes. Once again, remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed. (stir once during middle of cooking process).
- Return chicken to the top of rice and cover. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, removing the lid for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Meanwhile, fry tortillas in oil over low heat until crunchy. Build each taco with rice on the bottom, chicken (slice or dice the chicken before adding to the taco), pepper jack cheese, avocado (squeeze lime juice over avocado) and finish with your favorite hot sauce.
Disclosure: I am currently working with Sargento Cheese over the next year as a Flavor Journey Correspondent. While I have been compensated for my time, as always, all opinions are my own. Please support this wonderful company that supports the creation of recipes such as these.
Amy (Savory Moments) says
These look like some amazingly delicious tacos! Wow!
Tieghan says
Love tacos!! These looks amazing!! I love the smoky flavor going on!
Julianne @ Beyond Frosting says
Tacos are amazing!!! I found a good recipe for homemade tortillas and now they are the only tortillas I make!
Laura says
That is some taco! Sounds like it has some great flavor!
Des says
I have actually never heard of Chicken Paprikash before and am now feeling a bit deprived. I love this! I’ve been obsessed with tacos since Austin, adding these to my must try list đŸ™‚
Kezz18 says
Des I too haven’t heard of this dish but it sounds wonderful…..unfortunately we can’t buy pepper jack cheese here ( who knows why ) so will sub with some nice cheddar..thank you so much for sharing this great recipe
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
My husband is going to love you. His mother is the Chicken Paprikash Queen (I will never live up to her, weep weep) but maybe I will win him over with these! Pinning!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I could eat that rice by the scoopful! I am going to LOVE these
Jackie @ The Beeroness says
I’m completely hooked on smoked paprika, one of my favorite ingredients. These look fabulous!
Joanne @ Fifteen Spatulas says
Oh my goodness I want these right now. Nostalgic comfort food is always the best =)
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says
These look amazing! Love the flavor combinations here. Delicious!
Anne from Olympia says
Your comment about these being one of your all time favorite tacos sold me! I am making these right now. I am curious about the liquid to rice ratio which is 3:1. I am used to 2:1 but I assume that the 30 minutes of baking is the reason for the ratio. This smells SO good!!
Cathy says
I have found that as long as you are you using basmati it works, other types of rice it would likely be too much liquid.
Anne from Olympia says
I made this last Friday and it was absolutely wonderful! The toppings of only pepper jack cheese, avocado, and hot sauce highlighted the chicken and rice paprikish. I did offer diced tomatoes and olives but they are better without those. Those toppings are predictable and the white and green are simply delicious and pretty to look at! I used chicken breasts because I already had them and bought already fried tostado shells for the base to make it easier. I think the chicken thighs would make it even better if that is possible. This recipe is highly recommended!
Cathy says
That is so great! They are so flavorful, I can’t stop thinking about them.
Kalyan says
Just mouthwatering…looks delicious!
Cathy says
Thanks.
Kezz18 says
These were absolutely sensational, the rice was almost a meal by itself. Thank you for the great recipe….a keeper definitely.
Jeff @ Cheeseburger says
This is a unique recipe. I love tacos and I love eating chicken paprikash. This is just perfect.
Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says
Oh-mah-gosh, girl! I was raised on Chicken Paprikash and it is the ultimate comfort food! Still make my great grandmother’s authentic recipe with her Hungarian dumplings, too. (Even Wolfgang Puck doesn’t make dumplings like hers!) What a fabulous way to enjoy this comfort food with a Tex-Mex flair. Pure genius! Thanks ever so much for sharing, Cathy! xo
Laura says
Yum! This is totally unique and really delicious sounding! Pinning now! And bonus points for awesome childhood camping stories too! đŸ™‚
Roberta David says
I made this for dinner tonight…absolutely fabulous! My husband’s favorite meal is tacos and Spanish rice…he said as he was eating this dinner that this was now his ultimate favorite meal! He just LOVED all of it! I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts because that’s what I had in the freezer, and it really was wonderful. The rice was so moist and delicious! It’s definitely going to be on our “meal wheel” for our dinner menus. Thanks so much, Cathy, for sharing this wonderful dish!