Basque Chicken: Poulet Sauté Basquaise: Pollo Escuaro (Basque, Vascongado)

In the new PC I still lack an image editing application. these are As-Is from the phone.

So, I got back to finally cooking something this weekend. The last two weeks have been pretty slim pickings. This is another one-pot dish - use a big cooking pan or maybe a wok would work ( needs a lid).

Note: this is being written on my new portable which has a Spanish keyboard so there may be a typo or two (or three). Great little machine; has dual processors and seems lightning fast.

Basque Chicken

Serves: 4 (or 6) (designed for 6 but seems to only serve 3 or 4 around here)

Ingredients

• 2 kg chicken [4½ #] chopped in 6 pieces (8 if you keep the little wings - I did)
• salt
• pepper, white, freshly ground
• olive oil (and, if you're French, an equal amount of butter. I'm not. I didn't)
  
• 2 onions, medium, julienne [fine slices]
• 2 green peppers, large, julienne (½ kg [¼ #]) (a length similar to the onions please)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  
• 1 C dry white wine (boxed), approx
• ¼ kg tomatoes [1 C] peeled, seeded, brunoise [diced] (okay, I confess, I used a can)
• 1 bouquet garnis [herb packet] (thyme, parsley, bayleaf, whole peppercorns)
  
• 150 gr very good ham, dry cured, slices [5 oz]

Procedure

1. If you have a whole chicken… cut it up; salt & pepper the pieces
2. Oil into a pan, medium high; fry pieces really well - more than you usually do. You want these good and brown
3. Meanwhile
   • Crush the garlic
   • Devein, deseed and julienne the green peppers
   • Julienne, very finely, the onions (avoid cutting a chunk out of your pinky - advice I failed, myself, to take)
4. Remove browned chicken from the pan; put in the veggies & garlic, stir
   • Maybe add some oil if there doesn't seem to be enough
5. Cover, cook on medium-low until they're soft but not browned, stirring occasionally
6. Add back the chicken pieces and their juices
7. Add tomatoes, boquet garnis and wine (to just cover)
8. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and simmer until done/tender (about a half hour or 30 minutes)
9. Remove chicken again and, separately, pretty much all the vegetables. Toss the bouquet garnis out
10. Meanwhile, a little oil into a pan and fry the slices of ham slightly (this is not bacon we're talking about)
11. Reduce the chicken cooking liquid until it's saucey; coating the back of a spoon
12. Place the ham slices neatly on a plate (probably fan shaped), top with the chicken, arrange the vegetables next to it and pour sauce over the whole lot

Done

Notes

1. My chicken was ecological - they often taste quite a bit better than the regular ones. Grain fed, running around; get a chicken with a pedigree if you can.
2. Save the none meat bearing pieces of chicken for making stock. Freeze it for later if you're not making it now. Or, make it now, while the chicken is frying and you're cutting vegetables. Use some instead of part of the wine maybe.
3. A bouquet garnis usually also contains some celery leaves and some leeks but I didn't have any
4. The ham is a critical component - do not omit. Me, I didn't used slices - mine was chopped (sort of diced)
5. Serve with rice, especially rice pilaf - something to soak up some of the sauce
6. Sourced from my old favorite - Le Cordon Bleu: At Home; with barely any changes. I wonder if I'm violating some copyright law.