Synonymous with warmth and conviviality, as authentic as it is generous, Basque chicken proudly carries the colours of its region.
The most Basque of chickens
Chicken Basquaise is a specialty that, as its name suggests, comes from the Basque Country. And I can tell you that there is no recipe more Basque than this. Slowly simmered, it is made up of pieces of chicken cooked in a piperade seasoned with Espelette pepper. By the way, these colors, green, red and white, don’t they remind you of anything? They are exactly the same as those of the emblematic Euskadi flag. It is impossible to mistake its native region, chicken Basquaise clearly claims its origins.
But enough talk, let’s get down to business.
How to make a tasty Basque chicken?
Handpicked ingredients
To make this typical recipe, you need to get the right ingredients. Start by choosing nice pieces of chicken, free-range if possible. The wing, the breast or the thigh, choose according to your preferences. Just be sure to keep the skin of the poultry to give even more flavor to your preparation.
Now let’s look at the sauce. To make an authentic homemade piperade, you shouldn’t choose just any pepper. In fact, those used in piperade are a variety called “Anglet pepper”. Don’t run away, it’s not a hot pepper. Compared to Pepper X*, measured at 3.1 million on the Scoville scale**, the Anglet pepper does not exceed 100 units. In reality, it has the same heat as a classic pepper. However, it differs in its elongated shape and sweeter flavor. Be careful not to make a mistake when shopping.
You will also need sun-ripened tomatoes. It cannot be said enough that the best recipes are made with seasonal produce. You can exceptionally use canned peeled tomatoes, but this is not approved by all purists. The secret will be to add a sugar cube to the sauce to sweeten it and reduce its acidity.
Finally, in some versions, it will be allowed to add Bayonne ham to give more flavor to the sauce. If you ask the reason, it is simply because this product also comes from the Basque Country. Yes, regional specialties are select.
The recipe for Basque chicken
Preparation: 25 min
Cooking: 50 min
For 4 people :
4 nice pieces of chicken (breast or thighs)
500 g of tomatoes
2 Anglet peppers
1 red pepper
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
15 cl of white wine
1 tbsp. Espelette pepper
Salt and pepper from the mill
Brown the chopped onions and garlic with the olive oil.
Add the chicken pieces and the peppers in strips. Deglaze with white wine then add the tomatoes in pieces. Season with salt and pepper, cover the pan to simmer over low heat for 40 min.
Add the Espelette pepper and cook for another ten minutes.
Serve the Basque chicken with rice.
* The hottest pepper in the world recorded to date. It dethrones the Carolina Pepper, measured at 1.6 million on the Scoville scale, which held the record until 2017.
** Scale for measuring the heat of peppers. It was created by William Scoville in 1912.
