Hortobágyi Palacsinta (Hungarian Savory Crepes with Paprikás Chicken)

About This Recipe

Hortobágyi palacsinta is a well-known Hungarian dish that repurposes leftover paprikás csirke, paprika chicken stewed in a sour cream sauce, as a filling for thin savory crepes, then blends the remaining filling into a smooth sauce that's poured generously over the rolled crepes before serving. Named after the Hortobágy region's plains, it's a genuinely inventive way to stretch a pot of paprikás into a second, entirely different-feeling dish. The technique that carries the dish is building a proper paprikás base first: onions cooked low and slow until very soft, Hungarian sweet paprika bloomed in the fat off the heat (so it doesn't scorch and turn bitter), then chicken braised in that base with a good sour cream finish. Some of that finished chicken and sauce gets blended smooth to become the sauce poured over the filled, rolled crepes, while the rest stays chunky as the actual filling. This is a real, documented Hungarian dish — not an invented combination — commonly found on restaurant menus across Hungary as a way of using paprikás csirke in a second, more elegant form. The result is rich, paprika-forward and unmistakably Hungarian.

Ingredients

Serves 5

• 1.25 cupsall-purpose flour
• 2 largeeggs
• 1.5 cupswhole milk
• 0.25 tspfine sea salt
• 3 tbspbutter(melted, plus more for frying)
• 700 gboneless chicken thighs(cut into chunks)
• 2 tbspsweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 largeonion(finely diced)
• 2 tbsplard or oil
• 1 cupchicken stock
• 1 cupsour cream
• 1 tspfine sea salt(for the filling)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the crepe batter

   Whisk flour, eggs, milk, salt and melted butter until smooth. Rest the batter for 20 minutes.

2. 2

   Make the paprikás

   Melt lard in a pot over medium heat. Cook onion 10 minutes until very soft. Remove from heat, stir in paprika quickly, then return to low heat and add chicken and stock.

   Always add paprika off the heat or over very low heat — it scorches and turns bitter within seconds in a hot pan.

3. 3

   Braise the chicken

   Simmer covered for 25 minutes until the chicken is tender. Season with salt, then stir in sour cream and simmer 2 more minutes without boiling.

4. 4

   Divide the filling

   Remove half the chicken and sauce and set aside as the crepe filling. Blend the remaining half until smooth to make the sauce for topping.

5. 5

   Fry the crepes

   Heat a lightly buttered nonstick pan over medium heat. Pour in a thin layer of batter, swirling to coat, and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side until lightly golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

6. 6

   Fill and serve

   Spoon the chunky chicken filling onto each crepe and roll up. Arrange on plates and pour the smooth paprika sauce generously over the top.

Variations

• •

  Classic paprikás csirke: skip the crepes entirely and serve the chicken and sauce over nokedli (Hungarian dumplings), the traditional way this dish is usually eaten.

• •

  Mushroom addition: sauté sliced mushrooms with the onion for extra depth in the filling.

• •

  Leaner version: use chicken breast instead of thighs, watching the braising time closely so it doesn't dry out.

Storage

Store filled crepes and sauce separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the sauce gently on the stove, warm the crepes in a covered pan, and combine just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions