Basque-Style Chicken with Peppers

Name: Basque-Style Chicken with Peppers
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 800 g chicken meat (4 thighs); 4 bell peppers (2 red, 1 dark green and 1 yellow); 1 large onion (about 200 g); 5 garlic cloves; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 1 medium ripe tomato (about 150 g; or 2 canned tomatoes); 100 ml white wine; 1 bay leaf; 1 sprig thyme; 3/4 teaspoon ground fennel seeds; salt, pepper, chili flakes (i used piment d'espelette); 3 tablespoons oil

October 12, 2015

Chicken French Vegetables Meat Dishes

Recipe: Basque-Style Chicken with Peppers

Basque chicken a ma facon. This is my interpretation of the Basque chicken from the French region. Basque chicken is a chicken dish in a pepper and onion sauce (piperade; if you want to see how traditional piperade is made read this recipe). Here I used a little trick by using roasted peppers instead of adding raw peppers to cook in the sauce with the onion. The result has a slight smoky taste, is sweeter and creamier (the peppers have no skin! 😉 ). What do you think? If you like it, next time we'll try the Spanish version.

Ingredients

800 g chicken meat (4 thighs)
4 bell peppers (2 red, 1 dark green and 1 yellow)
1 large onion (about 200 g)
5 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium ripe tomato (about 150 g; or 2 canned tomatoes)
100 ml white wine
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
3/4 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
salt, pepper, chili flakes (I used piment d'Espelette)
3 tablespoons oil

How to prepare basque-style chicken with peppers

First, roast the peppers, peel off the skin, and remove stems and seeds. Collect all the juice they release. If you have many seeds in the juice, strain it before using in the recipe. In the recipe you'll use all the juice collected from the peppers plus enough water to make 150 ml total.
* the peppers can be roasted 1-2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator, in their juice.
In a wider pan (25-30 cm), heat the oil and place the thighs (generously seasoned with salt, black pepper and chili flakes) skin-side down. After they brown nicely, flip and fry equally on the other side. Remove the thighs to a covered bowl.
If the chicken has released a lot of fat, drain it, leaving about 3 tablespoons in the pan. Add the sliced onion and saute over low heat until very soft (about 10 minutes), without letting it brown.
Add the crushed garlic and saute for 15 seconds. Add the tomato paste and saute for another 2 minutes.
Deglaze with wine, the grated tomato (or canned tomatoes crushed with a fork) and the pepper juice (with water added to make 150 ml). Add a little salt, the bay leaf, fennel and thyme. Bring the sauce to a boil. When boiling, add the chicken pieces to the sauce.
Simmer covered, over low heat, for about 40-45 minutes.
Remove the cooked chicken from the dish. Add the peppers cut into about 1 cm strips. Simmer the sauce covered for another 15 minutes. During this time, adjust the sauce for salt and chili (if you want it spicier).
Place the chicken back in the sauce and simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes.
It's better if left to sit at least 1-2 hours for the flavors to blend. It's good warm with rice, potatoes or polenta.