Cheap Slow Paprika Chicken Thighs Pepper Potatoes
A simple delicious Spanish style chicken thigh recipe costing only pennies per person to produce. Easy to prepare ideally in a flat casserole dish to help crisp up the chicken thigh skin towards the end of the cooking time. This was created on a lazy Saturday afternoon not quite sure what we wanted to eat on our Saturday night in.Indulge in Cheap slow Spanish paprika chicken thighs.
Jump to RecipeBudget Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs are the perfect answer to a cheap dinner ideas for a crowd. I picked up five chicken thighs for around £1.80 what value for money especially if your cooking on a budget. They are so versatile, have so much more flavour than a chicken breast because of the fat content. All you need to do is add a few spuds and you have a meal, paired with wonky veg then you have a fantastic budget meal.
Wonky Veg
Everyone should be choosing wonky veg, it cuts down on food waste and when its cooked it tastes the same. Unless you are doing five star dining then it does not matter, if you have been trained to that level then still you should be able to present the dish perfectly.
Whilst on my shopping trip I grab some wonky veg to add to my dish. Firstly I came across some wonky peppers, every shape you could imagine but perfectly firm and crisp. The wonky peppers were mostly red with one yellow pepper and only cost £1.08 for a bag and I only used half. Wonky onions (about £0.58) and to bulk out the dish wonky potatoes (£1). Morrisons do a great range of Wonky Veg
How To Cook The Chicken Thighs
I used my old trusted cast iron flat casserole dish which I bought from Sainsbury’s whilst on offer. Sainsbury’s often reduce the price of their cook ware so wait patiently as there will be a great offer on. Cast iron cookware last a life time if cared for correctly. The naked cast iron takes a little effort to look after but if you get the enamelled cast iron then it is so much easier.
How Long to Cook Chicken Thighs in Oven
Chicken thighs can be cooked in the oven in as little as twenty to thirty minutes, However they will benefit from a long slow cook in the oven. be careful not to cook them to long especially if you do not have any liquid in the casserole dish as they will become dry. Maximum cooking time should be three hours for chicken thighs. Chicken thighs minimum cooking time 30 minutes, maximum 3 hours.
How to Cook Chicken Thighs
I decided that I wanted my paprika chicken thighs to be some somewhat crispy when served. As this was a lazy dinner I did not debone them to start with., especially as it was a long slow cook the meat would fall of anyway. Firstly I cooked them in the cast-iron dish with a little olive oil and butter. Seasoned both sides of course, cook until the skin has started to go a light brown colour.
I then added the smoked paprika chopped onions and peppers. Ensure that all the ingredients get covered in the smoked paprika. After cooking for five minutes I then added the potatoes and garlic cook for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken stock and white vine vinegar. A last moment addition to my Cheap Slow Paprika Chicken Thighs Pepper Potatoes was my ready chopped frozen leek. Place in the oven and leave for 2 hours. Its a simple as that.
Paprika Chicken Thighs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 potatoes
- 2 peppers red or orange
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 chicken thighs
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 leek chopped
- 100 ml hot water
- 10 ml white wine vinegar
- 1 stick cube chicken
Instructions
- Place your seasoned chicken thigh's in a hot cast iron casserole dish on the hob with a little olive oil and butter to start browning them. Turn them a few times whilst chopping roughly 5 minutes
- Whilst the chicken is browning roughly chop your onion, peppers and leeks (my leeks were pre cut from my freezer)
- Roughly chop all the garlic and put the kettle on for the stock cube
- Peel the potatoes and chop into chunks
- Now add the leeks onions and peppers along with the smoked paprika
- Ensure that all the ingredients are covered in the smoked paprika cook cook for 3 minutes on a medium to high heat
- Now add your potatoes, season and stir to coat everything. Now turn all your chicken thighs up so they will crips up during cooking.
- Now add the stock, white wine vinegar and oregano. Only add the stock so it comes 3/4 way up the chicken thighs.
- Place in the oven at 170c for 1 hour with the casserole lid on
- After 1 hour remove the casserole lid and return to the oven for a further 1 hour
Notes
Cheap Slow Paprika Chicken Thighs Leftovers
As there were only two of us eating the Spanish inspired dish. (no the kids were not tempted) Thereforethere was plenty leftover. What to do with this delicious cheap slow paprika chicken thigh leftovers. I took out the chicken thighs from the stock that was left and shredded all the meat of the bone. I also removed any none crispy bits of the chicken skin. I then removed all of the onions, peppers and potatoes and roughly chopped them into smaller pieces
The leftover stock what was left had some small soft chunks of garlic and little pieces onions. These were all very soft so I mashed them with a fork until the sauce/stock was pretty some. You could transfer to a blender if you wished but it was simple enough with a fork as everything was super soft. I am going to make some Empinda’s with the leftover chicken. The stock will be reduced to intensify the flavours. Perfect as it also makes the original dish even cheaper.
If you love paprika the you will love this simple Spanish beef stew
Happiest in the kitchen feeding the 3 children who are constantly hungry. Lucky enough to have worked in a Pro kitchen on a voluntary basis to learn the tricks of the trade.. Buckinghams The restaurant with one Table. With Chef Nick Buckingham.(RIP)