Fun Fearless Foodie

So this post is a bit delayed, but weekend travel to visit my family slowed me down.  But regardless, I have been really wanting to share this recipe for Chicken Basquaise that I made last week for the first time.  The story behind this dish goes like this…

I subsribe to ChowHound e-mails (click here to do the same) and the weekly recipe by Aida Molenkamp (yes, the same Ask Aida) was for this dish called Chicken Basquaise.  It sounds fancy, but really it’s chicken cooked on top of a sauce of peppers and onions in a dutch oven.  Once I saw the recipe I told myself I would give it a try once the opportunity presented itself. Plus ever since I bought by dutch oven I have been looking for any excuse to use it.

Shopping at Publix last week I saw they had chicken drumsticks on sale and I was able to get a package of 5 for $1.68, talk about a savings!  I wasn’t sure what I would do with them at the time, but I figured for that price I would make it worth my while.

Which brings me to Thursday, I ended up getting home earlier than usual from work and as much as vegging on the couch watching re-runs of Top Chef on my DVR sounded nice, I thought my time would be best spent whipping up a delicious meal to enjoy with my boyfriend when he got home from work.  I had 2 split chicken breasts that had to be used up in the fridge, along with the drumsticks, and 90% of the ingredients for the Chicken Basquaise recipe so it felt like a sign!

Bon Appetit!

Chicken Basquaise (courtesy Aida Mollenkamp)

Chicken Basquaise is a dish that defines the simple elegance of French Basque cooking. The peppers, onions, and garlic are cooked until they are melting, then topped with some piment d’Espelette and browned chicken. Recipes for this traditional dish are few and far between, and we can’t figure out why.

Time/Servings
Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 (3- to 3-1/2-pound) broiler chicken, cut into 8 pieces (ask your butcher to do this)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pipérade (aka Peppers and Onions)

• 6 medium tomatoes (or 15 oz can of diced tomatoes)
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 ounces thinly sliced Bayonne ham (or prosciutto), cut into 1/2-inch squares (I asked my the deli counter to slice me a 4 ounce think piece of Boar’s Head Prosciutto)
• 2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped (I left out the parsley personally)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium dried bay leaf
• 2 medium red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cleaned and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
• 2 medium green bell peppers, cleaned and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips (I added two more red and orange peppers in their place)
• 2 teaspoons piment d’Espelette (or paprika or cayenne pepper)

Instructions

<Skip this step if you are using canned tomatoes>Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a medium bowl halfway with ice and water. Using the tip of a knife, remove the stem and cut a shallow X-shape into the bottom of each tomato. Place the tomatoes in boiling water and blanch until the skin just starts to pucker and loosen, about 10 seconds. Drain and immediately immerse tomatoes in the ice water bath. Using a small knife, peel the loosened skin and cut each tomato in half. With a small spoon, scrape out any seeds, then core and coarsely chop the remaining flesh. Set aside.

Place a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When oil shimmers, add ham or prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove to a plate and reserve.

Return the pan to heat, add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and, once heated, add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring rarely, until soft and beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Stir in herbs and pepper slices and season well with salt. Cover and cook, stirring rarely, until peppers are slightly softened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in diced tomatoes, browned ham, and piment d’Espelette (or paprika or cayenne pepper) and season well with salt. Cook uncovered until mixture melds together and juices have slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and remove from dutch oven and reserve.

Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a 3-1/2- or 5-quart casserole or large Dutch oven.

When oil shimmers, add chicken pieces in a single layer (do this in batches) and let cook until very brown, turn and repeat until pieces are well-browned all over, about 10 minutes per batch. Remove browned pieces to a plate and set aside. Discard excess oil and wipe out the pot with paper towels.

Place pipérade in the bottom of the pot, top with browned chicken pieces, cover, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally (make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so the sauce doesn’t burn), until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

I prepared a Risotto Milanese to serve with this dish and it was the perfect accompaniment for the yummy sauce.  While I am one to make my own Risotto, I picked up a new product on sale that is an all in one packet for Risotto Milanese made by Alessi.  It was only $2.98 on sale compared to the large canister of arborio rice Publix sold for $7.50.  The quality was excellent and was so easy, this product only required you to leave it in simmering water for 20 minutes and ta da! (FYI Risotto Milanese is arborio rice cooked with saffron threads, its an Italian classic).