Varna Style Braised Chicken Bulgarian Dish Recipes

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH PRUNE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat chicken thouroughly dry with paper towel and sprinkle sides with salt and pepper In a 10 to 12-inch skillet melt two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of oil over high heat.
• Add chicken skin-side down and reduce heat to moderate.
• Fry until sides are golden brown.
• (Don't worry if the inside is pink, we will be cooking the chicken more later) Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Add the celery, carrot, and onion to the fat remaining in pan, stirring occasionally, and cook until the vegetables are soft but NOT brown.
• Return the chicken to the pan and lay the parsley and bay leaf on top.
• Pour in 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
• Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Lower the heat and simmer for thirty minutes, basting it from time to time with the juices in the pan Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of water, the 1 1/2 cups of prunes, the lemon juice, and the sugar.
• Place on high heat.
• Bring prunes to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until prunes are tender.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken from the skillet and arrange attractively on an ovenproof platter.
• Scatter the cooked prunes over the top.
• Cover the platter loosely with foil and put it into the oven.
• Press hard on the vegetables with a spoonback releasing the juices.
• Discard vegetables.
• Set juices aside.
• Melt two tablespoons of butter in the skillet and add the flour.
• Cook on high heat until flour is golden brown.
• Pour in the 1/2 cup of reserved prune juice and the 1/2 cup of reserved pan juices (if there is less then 1/2 cup, make up for it by augmenting it with the chicken broth) Boil until sauce is smooth and thickened.
• Serve at once.

BRAISED LEMON CHICKEN

Steps:

• Rinse chicken and pat dry.
• Trim and discard pockets of fat.
• In a bowl, mix vinegar and oil, and season to taste.
• Add thighs and turn to coat.
• Cover and chill 1 hour.
• After 1 hour chilling time, preheat oven to 350F while continuing with recipe.
• Set a 5 to 6 quart ovenproof pan with lid over medium-high heat.
• Lift chicken thighs from marinade (reserve marinade) and arrange in a single layer in pan.
• Turn as necessary to brown on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes total.
• Transfer chicken to a rimmed plate and lower heat under pan.
• Add shallots and garlic to pan and stir frequently until shallots are limp, about 5 minutes.
• Return chicken to pan and add marinade, lemons, vermouth, and herbes de Provence.
• Cover pan.
• Transfer to preheated oven and bake until chicken is very tender when pierced, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon into bowls to serve.

BULGARIAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• In dutch oven on stovetop, heat up olive oil. (If you have a thick one, use vegetable oil because it has a higher tolerance of temperature... won't burn out as quick as olive oil). Brown chicken lightly.
• Add all remaining ingredients except for parsley. Stir well.
• Cover tightly and let cook over low - low / medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender (about 2 hours).
• Turn off heat. Add parsley, mix, cover and let standd for 25-30 minutes before serving.
• ** Sauce will not be thick. If you want a thicker sauce, during last 5 minutes of cooking, mix 1-2 Tbs cornstarch or flour in separate bowl along with a few ladels of hot broth from pot. Mix away all lumps and add mixture back to pot.

CROCK POT BRAISED CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Brush the inside of a 6-quart crock pot with melted butter.
• Place the onion slices in the bottom of the crock pot/slow cooker.
• Top with potato slices, carrots and peas.
• In a bowl combine the broth, wine, garlic, 1 teaspoon seasoned or white salt, black pepper and thyme; pour the mixture over the vegetables.
• In a small bowl mix together 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika, 1-2 teaspoons seasoned salt (or to taste) and black pepper to taste; rub on top of the skin on the chicken.
• Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the vegetables.
• Cover and cook on LOW setting for about 7-8 hours, or until the chicken is tender.

CREAMY BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or large skillet, bring 6 cups water to a boil; add pearl onions; boil 3 minutes, drain & rinse in cold water; peel and set aside.
• In the same pan, saute sliced onions, carrot and celery in 1 tablespoon butter until tender; remove vegetables; set aside.
• Add chicken to the pan; brown on both sides; remove and keep warm.
• Add wine; simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup; stir in broth and seasonings.
• Return chicken to pan; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until juices run clear; Remove chicken to platter; keep warm.
• Combine flour and milk until smooth; gradually stir into pan; bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
• Return vegetables to pan; remove from heat; cover and set aside.
• In a nonstick skillet, saute reserved pearl onions in remaining butter until tender; remove and set aside.
• In the same pan, saute mushrooms until tender.
• Add onions & mushrooms to serving platter. Discard bay leaf from sauce; spoon over chicken and vegetables, serve.