Basque chicken, in its different incarnations, is one of my favorite dishes. A basic chicken stew, it’s homey and satisfying. It’s not high cuisine, but comfort food of the best kind.
I’ve made different versions of this dish before. This traditional version, from a cookbook I bought in Spain, has carrots and cognac and was originally meant for rabbit. This more complicated version is French and comes from Gerald Hirigoyen’s The Basque Kitchen, a book I loved and lost (I loaned it to a friend who never returned it :-(. The one I cooked comes from Teresa Barrenchea’s The Basque Table. It’s simple, has few ingredients, but it did take me about 2 hours to cook 🙁 It is, however, very good. The recipe below is not exactly like the original recipe (of course!), but it’s how I made it. I’m serving it with whole wheat couscous (because it’s so easy and quick to make).
I speak in the present tense because, as I write, I wait for Mike and the kids to come home and have dinner. Hurry up! I’m hungry!
Recipe
-3 1/2 lbs. chicken parts
-sea salt
-1/2 cup olive oil
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 onion, sliced
-2 red bell peppers, sliced
-2 medium tomatoes, seeded & diced
-1 1/2 tsp. sugar
-1 cup dry white wine
-juice of 1/2 lemon
Sprinkle chicken parts with salt, set aside.
In a large, deep skillet or pot heat 1/4 cup of oil, brown the chicken on both sides ( you may have to do this on batches). Set aside. Pour off the used oil and add 1/4 cup of fresh oil to the pot, heat. Add the chopped garlic and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add the sliced onion and sautee on low heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the red pepper and tomatoes, mix well and season with the sugar and salt to taste. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes give out their juice. Add the wine.
Add the chicken and mix well. Bring mixture to a boil and then simmer on medium heat, partially covered, until the chicken is done, about 40 minutes. The sauce should be somewhat thick, boil off some of the liquid if it’s not. Add the lemon juice and cook for five more minutes. Serve.
