"Poulet basquaise" (Chicken Basquaise)
At first everything started with a sauce. Called Basquaise or piperade, this sauce made from tomatoes, capsicums and various spices was created in the region of Soule (east of the Basque Country).
First made with bread and vegetables, it gradually evolved into the sauce that we know today and that we savor without restraint. This basquaise is very often used today to accompany tuna or chicken, giving the famous chicken Basquaise.
Ingredients (Serve 6)
1 free-range chicken cut into pieces
25 g of butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg of tomatoes
1 kg green and red sweet peppers (if not, capsicums)
3 onions
3 cloves of garlic
100 g of Bayonne ham (optional)
2 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of parsley
1 bay leaf
200ml white wine
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of Espelette chilli (or if not, pepper)
Directions
- Wash the sweet peppers and tomatoes. Take off the peduncles, remove the ribs and the seeds from the peppers.
- Cut the peppers into strips and the tomatoes into quarters. If you have time, peel the tomatoes and peppers, it will be better.
- Peel the onions and garlic cloves and chop it all.
- Remove the fat from the ham and cut into cubes.
- Wash thyme, parsley and bay leaf
- In a cast iron type casserole, put the butter and olive oil. Bring the chicken pieces over a high heat for about 10 minutes, until they brown.
- Reserve the chicken in a dish and discard most of the cooking fat (keep the equivalent of 4 tablespoons). Be careful to keep the juices well.
- In the same casserole which therefore contains only a little cooking fat (the chicken being quietly in another dish waiting for its time), put the dice of onions, garlic and strips of sweet peppers.
- Add a small pinch of salt, a good pinch of Espelette chilli and cook for 7 or 8 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Add the tomato wedges, diced ham, thyme, parsley and bay leaf, and mix.
- Cook covered for 20 minutes over medium heat.
- After 20 minutes, add the reserved wine and chicken and cook for 30 minutes, still covered.
Serve as is, with steamed potatoes or white rice.