Chicken Baranya style with yellow wax beans

Ingredients:

one approx. 1kg oven-ready chicken or 4 large chicken legs, 1 small stalk of leek or 1 onion, 3 tbsp oil, approx. 1 level tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1 bottle (0.5 l) of Kecskeméti tomato juice, 500g yellow wax beans (use frozen yellow wax beans if not in season), a few fresh (or dried) tarragon leaves, 200-250g smoked sausage, 2 small pots (2x150g) of sour cream, 1 heaped tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp Univer hot Piros Arany or Erős Pista

1. Wash the chicken, pat it dry and cut it into 8 pieces. First, lay it on its back and cut lengthwise at the breast. Then quarter the halves as follows: cut off the wings with some of the breast, then remove the legs and chop them in half at the joint.

2. Peel the leek, slice it and let it sweat in oil in a large saucepan for 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken and sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 6-7 minutes until the meat whitens, then add the tomato concentrate and 200-300ml of water. Bring it to a boil over high heat, cover, and cook until half tender over low heat in just over half an hour.

3. Meanwhile, clean the beans, i.e. remove the thin, stringy part in the middle, also known as the filament. Then cut them into 2 cm pieces, add to the meat and sprinkle with finely chopped tarragon. Season with the remaining salt and pepper, and if not completely covered by the juice, dilute with some water or tomato juice. Cook for 5–6 minutes then add the skinned and sliced sausage.

4. Whisk the sour cream with flour and 100ml of water or tomato juice until smooth. After 10-15 minutes, once tender, add a little from the soup to the sour cream and flour mix, stir, then pour over the chicken and beans. Cook for 3-4 minutes to let the juice thicken like sauce. Then season and fire it up with hot Piros Arany and add some more water as needed. Remove it from the stove, let it rest for 10-15 minutes, meanwhile the fat will come up on top. Remove the fat with a small ladle, so that the dish would not be too fatty when served. Serve with fresh bread.

Useful advice:

Feel free to use deep-frozen or canned yellow wax beans. The former needs 8-10 mins of cooking, while the latter only 2-3 mins of heating. The brine of the canned beans can replace some of the water in the pot. Add one tsp Univer pörkölt (paprika stew) seasoning for a perfect flavour.