Basque-style chicken with rice

Name: Basque-style chicken with rice
Prep time: 35 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: world favourites
Ingredients: 500 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) (4–5 whole skinless, boneless pieces, prepared by a kosher butcher); 160 g Basmati rice (80 g per person, dry weight); 300 g Red peppers (1 large and 1 small, cut into strips); 200 g Long mild green peppers (Anaheim or felfel) (4 long mild green peppers (shushka), cut into strips; alternatively, 1 green bell pepper); 150 g Yellow onions (1 large); 15 g Garlic (3 cloves); 100 g Kosher dry white wine (1 glass (100 ml), kosher, for deglazing); 400 g Tinned chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) (1 tin with its juice; in summer, 500 g grated fresh tomatoes (see tips)); 35 g Extra virgin olive oil (3 tbsp for cooking, 1/2 tbsp to drizzle over when serving); 6 g Sweet paprika (2 tsp); 1 g Hot red chilli powder (1/2 level tsp: three-quarters in the sauce, a pinch to serve. Replaces Espelette pepper, which is rare in Israel (if available, use 2 g Espelette instead). 0.5 g for gentle heat); 1 g Dried thyme (1 level tsp); 0.2 g Dried bay leaves (1 leaf); 8 g Fine salt (3 g in the rice water, 3 g on the onions and peppers, 1–2 g to adjust at the end depending on the chicken, which is already salted during koshering); 0.5 g Ground black pepper (2 pinches); 10 g Flat-leaf parsley (a handful of leaves, chopped to serve); 280 g Water (for the rice (1 volume rice to 1.5 volumes water))

meat main dish · world favourites · 2/5 · easy · 75 min, including 35 hands-on

Well-browned chicken thighs simmered in a piperade of red peppers, mild green peppers, tomato, garlic and white wine, seasoned with paprika and chilli in the Basque style, with basmati rice to soak up the sauce.

Ingredients for two

500 g	Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) 4–5 whole skinless, boneless pieces, prepared by a kosher butcher
160 g	Basmati rice 80 g per person, dry weight
300 g	Red peppers 1 large and 1 small, cut into strips
200 g	Long mild green peppers (Anaheim or felfel) 4 long mild green peppers (shushka), cut into strips; alternatively, 1 green bell pepper
150 g	Yellow onions 1 large
15 g	Garlic 3 cloves
100 g	Kosher dry white wine 1 glass (100 ml), kosher, for deglazing
400 g	Tinned chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) 1 tin with its juice; in summer, 500 g grated fresh tomatoes (see tips)
35 g	Extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp for cooking, 1/2 tbsp to drizzle over when serving
6 g	Sweet paprika 2 tsp
1 g	Hot red chilli powder 1/2 level tsp: three-quarters in the sauce, a pinch to serve. Replaces Espelette pepper, which is rare in Israel (if available, use 2 g Espelette instead). 0.5 g for gentle heat
1 g	Dried thyme 1 level tsp
0.2 g	Dried bay leaves 1 leaf
8 g	Fine salt 3 g in the rice water, 3 g on the onions and peppers, 1–2 g to adjust at the end depending on the chicken, which is already salted during koshering
0.5 g	Ground black pepper 2 pinches
10 g	Flat-leaf parsley a handful of leaves, chopped to serve
280 g	Water for the rice (1 volume rice to 1.5 volumes water)

Method

Finely slice the onion. Deseed the red and green peppers and cut into 1 cm strips. Peel and crush the garlic. Rinse the rice under cold water in a sieve until the water runs almost clear, then leave to drain. Pat the chicken thoroughly dry with kitchen paper: dry chicken browns rather than boils.
Heat 30 g oil in a 28 cm sauté pan over a medium-high heat until shimmering (2 minutes). Lay the thighs flat in a single layer, smooth-side down, and leave untouched for 5 minutes, until well browned and releasing from the pan by themselves. Turn and brown the other side for 3 minutes. The bottom of the pan should be brown, not black: these browned bits will give the sauce its flavour. Set the chicken aside on a plate without salting; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
Lower the heat to medium-low. In the same pan, soften the onion and red and green peppers with 3 g salt for 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes: the onion should turn translucent, the peppers soften and lose their stiffness, and their juices begin to loosen the browned bits. Add the garlic, paprika, three-quarters of the chilli, thyme and pepper; stir for 30 seconds until fragrant, without letting the garlic colour.
Increase the heat to medium-high and pour in the white wine. Scrape the bottom with a spatula to dissolve all the browned bits, and reduce by half, about 2 minutes, until the smell of alcohol has gone. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf, then return the chicken and its juices, nestling it into the vegetables. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook over a low heat for 25 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through.
As soon as the covered sauté pan is simmering, start the rice: bring the 280 g water to the boil in an 18 cm saucepan with 3 g salt, add the drained rice, stir once, cover and cook over a very low heat for 12 minutes. The water should be absorbed and small craters form on the surface. Turn off the heat and leave covered, without opening, until serving, for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the parsley.
Uncover the sauté pan and cook over a medium-low heat for another 5–10 minutes, stirring gently, until the sauce has reduced by about a quarter and coats the back of a spoon, and the peppers yield under the spoon. The chicken is ready when its flesh pulls apart under the tip of a fork. Taste the sauce and adjust with 1 g salt, or up to 2 g depending on the chicken; it should have a clear, well-seasoned flavour and a lightly spicy finish. Remove the bay leaf.
Fluff the rice with a fork. Serve immediately, with rice and half the chicken each, generously covered with piperade. Drizzle the sauce with olive oil (5 g), then add the parsley and a final pinch of chilli in the Basque style.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

Extra virgin olive oil : 20 g
Basmati rice : 120 g
Red peppers : 400 g
Water : 210 g
Fine salt : 7.5 g

In step 2, brown the chicken in just 15 g oil: with the pan thoroughly hot, it will brown just as well.

In step 5, cook 120 g rice in 210 g water with 2.5 g salt.

Less rice and oil, more piperade: the chicken stays golden and the sauce just as generous.

On your plate

Recipe

940 kcal · protein 64 g · carbs 96 g · fat 32 g

Quantities per person

250 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot)
80 g Basmati rice
150 g Red peppers
100 g Long mild green peppers (Anaheim or felfel)
75 g Yellow onions
7.5 g Garlic
50 g Kosher dry white wine
200 g Tinned chopped tomatoes (400 g tin)
17.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
3 g Sweet paprika
0.5 g Hot red chilli powder
0.5 g Dried thyme
0.1 g Dried bay leaves
4 g Fine salt
0.25 g Ground black pepper
5 g Flat-leaf parsley
140 g Water

Cooking tips

Start the rice when the chicken begins to simmer: it will be cooked and rested when the sauce is ready, with nothing to watch over during these 25 minutes. In summer, replace the tin with 500 g very ripe fresh tomatoes, grated so the skin stays in your hand: more Basque in character and no slower. For more flavour, buy 2 whole chicken legs with skin and bones (about 650 g) from the butcher: brown for 6 minutes on the skin side and 3 minutes on the other, simmer for 40 minutes instead of 25, and start the rice after 15 minutes of simmering. Keeps for 2 days in the fridge and reheats very well, covered, over a low heat. Do not replace the thighs with breast meat, which dries out.

Equipment : 28 cm sauté pan with a lid, 18 cm saucepan with a lid, wooden spatula

Poulet basquaise from the Basque Country: piperade of peppers and mild chillies, tomato and white wine. A kosher version without Bayonne ham, with sweet paprika and hot chilli replacing Espelette pepper, and boneless chicken thighs.

Basque-style chicken with rice

Method

Timer

On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

Explore this cuisine

Starters to serve with this dish

Three recipes to try next

Comments and reviews

Share your experience