Braised Chicken and Bell Pepper

I’m really liking the combination of red bell pepper and smoked paprika. Here’s another recipe that uses it.

2 chicken leg quarters
1 cup scallion greens, divided
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon masa (finely ground corn flour, substitute sweet rice flour or spelt flour if needed)
1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
olive oil
S&P

Season the chicken leg quarters with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Let fry, undisturbed, for 5 minutes until the skin is golden brown.  Flip the chicken and repeat.  Remove the chicken to a plate.  Turn down the heat to medium and add half the scallion greens, the bell pepper, and the cherry tomatoes. Put a lid on the pan and saute for about 5 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.  Remove lid and stir in the masa and smoked paprika.  Stir for a minute and then add the chicken broth. Stir vigorously to scrape up any stuck bits from the pan.  Return the chicken to the pan, cover, bring to a simmer then turn the heat down low and cook until the chicken is falling off the bone tender, about 30 minutes.  Remove cover, turn up heat, and boil the mixture for a few minutes until the sauce is nicely thickened.  Taste and adjust seasoning with paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining scallions.  Serve with rice.

Slow Cooker Pork and Cabbage Soup

I was very surprised to find that common, green cabbage is listed as safe in the Low Fodmap Diet app. Apparently, not all brassicas are bad.  Large servings of 1 cup or more contain enough sorbitol to affect people who are intolerant of polyols.  This entire recipe only has 1 1/2 cups of cabbage in it and makes a bunch of servings.  I adapted this recipe from one I found at Serious Eats.

MAKE THIS THE DAY BEFORE SERVING.  Letting it sit in the fridge for a day really improves the flavor.  Don’t skip the caraway seeds; they are essential.

4 slices thick smoked bacon, chopped, fried until crispy and drained of fat
2 to 2 1/2 lbs of pork stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups diced cabbage (not Savoy cabbage, just common green cabbage)
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch scallion greens, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted, ground caraway seeds
3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
salt, pepper, and sugar to taste

Optional, for serving:

1/2 cup sour cream mixed with a few tablespoons chopped scallion greens

Combine first 10 ingredients in slow cooker. Add just enough chicken broth to barely cover the solid ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Cool and refrigerate for a day. When ready to serve, remove congealed fat from the soup, reheat and taste for seasoning.  You may need to add a little sugar to make the right balance of sweet and sour.  This should not be overwhelming, just a gentle sweet and sour. I think I used less than tablespoon of sugar.  I also added a bit more paprika at the end to really bring that flavor forward.  Serve with the sour cream mixture as a garnish.