One Dish Wonders: Chicken Basquaise with Hatch Chiles
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Easy one dish meal that celebrates the Basque Region. This version has a little Santa Fe flair to it as it incorporates Hatch Chiles into the piperade. The chicken can be browned while you are preparing the piperade to save time.
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Basque
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • For the Piperade
  • 3 Walla Walla Onions (smaller than a tennis ball, but larger than a golf ball)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 green bell peppers
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 3 mild green hatch chiles
  • 5 tomatoes cut into ½ inch chunks
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt (may adjust to taste)
  • sugar - just a pinch
  • 3 thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon piment d'Esplette
  • Freshly ground Pepper
  • For the chicken:
  • 1 chicken cut into eight pieces or eight chicken thighs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • ¾ cup dry white wine
  • To finish:
  • white rice - cooked, used as base for chicken and piperade
  • cilantro or basil for garnish
Instructions
  1. For the Piperade:
  2. Cut the onions in half, and then into thin slices.
  3. Heat a Dutch oven or large high-sided skillet with a cover over medium heat and pour in two tablespoons of the oil. Warm the oil for approximately a minute, then add the onions and cook, stirring for approximately 10 minutes until softened.
  4. While onion mixture is softening, cut the peppers and chiles in half, trim the tops, remove core and seeds. Cut bell peppers lengthwise into ½ inch strips, and thinly slice the chiles.
  5. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot, stir in the peppers and chiles, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir for another 20 minutes until all the vegetables are quite soft.
  6. Add the tomatoes, garlic, salt, sugar, thyme, bay leaf, piment d'Esplette, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir well, cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove cover and let the piperade simmer for another 15 minutes. There will be a decent amount of liquid in the pot. Add more salt, pepper or piment d'Esplette if needed.
  7. For the Chicken:
  8. Pat the chicken pieces dry. Warm oil in a Dutch Oven. Add a couple of chicken pieces skin side down, and cook until the skin is a golden brown for approximately 5 minutes. (Do not crowd the chicken - do it in batches) Turn the chicken over and cook for approximately 3 more minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and continue until all the chicken is browned.
  9. Discard the oil, set the pot over high heat, pour in the wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits that might have stuck to the bottom. Let the wine cook until it is reduced to approximately 2 tablespoons. Return the chicken to the pot, and add any juices that have accumulated in the bowl.
  10. Spoon in the piperade and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat so that the piperade just simmers. Cover the pot and simmer gently for approximately 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Taste for salt and pepper, and season as needed.
  11. To serve place white rice on a plate, place chicken on rice and top with piperade and garnish with fresh cilantro or basil.
Recipe by Tout va bien! (tm) at https://christymajors.com/one-dish-wonders-chicken-basquaise-with-hatch-chiles/