Basque Chicken is an excellent, delicious and simple recipe popularly prepared in the Basque region. It is a perfect combo of flavours made with chicken, fresh bell pepper, garlic, clove, onions and tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper. It makes a lot of wonderful sauce that goes exceptionally well over steamed rice or served with a crusty loaf of fresh French bread. This delectable recipe comes from the Basque region which is located in the southwest of France and extends into Spain.
The cooking traditions of the Basque region are distinct from the rest of France. It is said to be a mix of French and Spanish cuisines. It features lots of seafood (squid in its own ink is a popular delicacy), garlic, and olive oil and tends to be a bit spicier than most French cooking. As with all good French cooking, the emphasis is always on quality, fresh ingredients. Bell peppers are popular in Basque cooking, as in this French Chicken recipe too.
Basque cuisine is unique and superb. Its major focus is on fresh, well-prepared dishes using local, seasonal ingredients. Food is an integral part of Basque culture, so important that gastronomic societies, generally men meet to cook, eat and engage each other in social activities that exist throughout the country. The most important factor in Basque cuisine is the use of fresh ingredients.
The fineness of their cooking is due to the use of high quality seasonal ingredients combined with preparation that enhances the natural flavours of the food. Chicken is a very versatile poultry meat which can be cooked in many ways. Every region has its own traditional way of cooking and use of spices. Chicken can be just fried, baked, grilled, roasted or can be made into various exotic and delicious recipes with just few aromatic herbs and spices added to it.
Throughout the world, every country, state or region have their own authentic way of preparing the chicken recipe. Some of the very popular chicken recipes are Tandoori Chicken, Capsicum chicken with Chinese sauce, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Methi Chicken etc or else just click here and you can actually enter into the magical box of an collection of Internationally acclaimed and classic chicken recipes.
Yeah! Coming back to our Basque Chicken, the secret ingredient in this recipe is the Bayonne ham or Jambon de Bayonne which is an air dried salted ham that takes its name from the ancient port city of Bayonne in the far southwest of France, a city located in both the cultural regions of Basque country and Gascony.
Bayonne ham is appreciated worldwide for its delicate taste and gorgeous colour. This is one of the best delicious air dried ham in the world. Bayonne ham is the star ingredient in making of the Basque Chicken which also gives uniqueness to the dish along with its distinctive taste and flavours.
Bayonne ham can also be thinly sliced and served on it’s own with Charentais melon, sliced Kiwi fruit, pineapple or used in the many Basque dishes calling for ham it is simply stunning. This delicious air dried ham from Bayonne is an essential element of the Basque gastronomy and this fine and tasty cured ham is a speciality of the southwest mountainous regions of France.
To prepare the Basque Chicken, firstly cut the chicken into 10 to 12 pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat about ¼ cup of olive oil in a Dutch oven and put the chicken pieces and brown all sides over high heat. Cover and cook over moderate heat for 15 minutes.
Peel and seed the green peppers. Cut into large strips. Place the green peppers, ham and garlic in the Dutch oven with the chicken. Cook for 20 minutes. Peel and seed the tomatoes. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a skillet. Put the onions and cook over moderate heat for 15 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes more. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve hot. For preparing this delicious dish from the Basque region, you actually don’t need to go there and enjoy the dish, but can surely try this recipe right at your home by clicking on the below link.
Just hit it and give a try! It’s delicious, aromatic and enticing.
https://www.vahrehvah.com/basque-chicken-recipe
Enjoy Cooking!