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Basque Style Chicken
With Talibah Simone
This fresh and delicious dish originates from a small region in the south west of France near the Spanish border; however, I’ve given it a kick of flavour! No salt necessary, just fresh flavours packed with spice! Impress your friends with this dish
Duration: 40 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients
5 skin-on chicken thighs (1.1kg)
4 Cloves of garlic
3 Olive oil
3 Bell peppers halved
3 Red or green chile
2 Tbsp white wine
2 Carrots diced
1 Tbsp vegetable bouillon (with 2 tbs of water)
1Tbs tomato paste
1 Tin of plum tomatoes
Half red onion
Handful of heirloom tomatoes (different colours)
Handful of pitted green olives
Lemon juice (1 lemon or half a cup)
[Additional: Prosciutto pieces to be added with vegetables]
Seasonings
1 Tbsp all purpose
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Bay leaf
Handful of fresh thyme
Method
Roast the chiles - roasting is better than raw, the process is that you char the outside without burning the inside and remove the char as it infuses the Chile inside with flavour. This will only take a few minutes if you have a gas stove, if not grill till all sides are charred. Once roasted, cover in baking paper to cool. Remove charred parts carefully, cut the chile open, remove and discard the seeds, and slice into strips.
Trim away the excess fat from the thighs. Using the lemon juice, pour over chicken and by using water, wash off any excess fat or residue of blood. Pat dry with a paper towel and season. Set aside.
Whilst the chicken marinades, prepare your veggies by slicing and dicing to your desirable size.
Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to your skillet and brown the chicken starting from the skin side down. The browning process will take 5 minutes per side. Once browned, set aside. There may be some burn residue within the skillet, use a wooden spoon to remove.
Add chopped garlic and sliced onions to the same oil in the skillet, sauté for a few minutes till the garlic crisps (shouldn’t be more than 3 minutes). Add in the remaining vegetables and thyme. Using a tablespoon add the bouillon to the skillet followed by 2 tablespoons of water. Stir. Add the tin of tomatoes with thyme and a bay leaf to the dish. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
If you do not have a skillet or oven proof saucepan, cook on the stove for a further 15 minutes on a medium heat. If you have a skillet, cook for a further 10 minutes in an oven at 190 degrees.
Sprinkle fresh parsley and more chopped olives and serve! This dish goes perfectly with fresh fluffy rice.
