Chicken Basquaise

Serves 4 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes

A home style dish common in the Basque region (sandwiched between the borders of France and Spain; this is a braised chicken with peppers and onions. A typical ingredient for this dish is espelette pepper; one of my most favorite dried chilis in the world. Though it’s uncommon in the states. Look for it at your favorite spice shop of buy online from trusted spice shops like the one.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, about 4 lb, cut into 8 pieces
Salt
Pepper
Pinch of piment d’Espelètte or cayenne pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
3 red bell peppers, cut into fine julienne
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter
16 ounces canned Italian plum tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
1/2 cube chicken bouillon or 1/2 cup light chicken stock or broth (See Note)
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
Serve with rice pilaf

Chef Tips

Of course; if you don’t want rice pilaf you can go with something more vegetable forward or another starch like boiled and roasted potatoes.

This can be done in an Instapot if that’s what works for you to.

Preparation

Step 1

Season the chicken all over with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Heat the large pot over medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken, skin side down, and brown on that side only. Remove the chicken and set aside on the plate. Add the peppers and onion to the pot and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for about 10 minutes

Step 2

Add the butter, tomatoes and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the wine, scraping, scraping—as always—to get the good stuff up. Cook until the wine is reduced by half, then add the chicken stock or water Return the chicken to the pot, making sure to add all the juice on the plate. Cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 25 minutes. Remove the chicken to the platter. Crank up the heat to high and reduce the sauce for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with rice pilaf.