Today we are sleeping in as we prepare to begin walking our Camino, leaving from Leon, Spain, tomorrow morning. I don’t know what we will find to eat today in Leon, but if we can’t find anything inspiring we know of a fine little Mexican restaurant called King Kong near the Cathedral.
On our 2017 Camino, the first real meal that we ate on the Way was a Pilgrim’s dinner in a small restaurant in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port the night before we started walking. We didn’t know it at the time, but the meal was the classic Poulet a la Basque or Basque Chicken. It was so tender, piquant, salty, and oh-so-good that I had to figure out the recipe. On my birthday later that year, Michelle bought me Yosmar Martinez’s Tastes of the Camino Cookbook. The first recipe is for Basque Chicken. Her recipe is not exactly like the one we had in SJPdP, but it gave me a jumping off point. So with Yosmar’s forgiveness for “borrowing” parts of her recipe, here is my version of Basque chicken. This version will serve 2-3 people.
Begin by seasoning one and a half pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs with salt and pepper and browning it in a pan with olive oil. It does not need to be cooked through. Set the chicken aside.
Add sliced onion, red and yellow pepper, four cloves of minced garlic, and a cup of petite diced tomatoes to the pan and cook until everything is
Add half a cup of dry white wine and cover to simmer on low for thirty minutes. Taste the sauce and season with additional salt and pepper if needed but be careful to not make the dish salty due to the garnish later. Also, a small amount of sugar may be added if the tomatoes are particularly acidic. Add the chicken back in and continue to simmer on low for an additional 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and slightly falling apart.
During the simmer, prepare the potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400º and cut fingerling potatoes in halves or quarters depending on size. Toss them in some olive oil and salt and place them in a roasting pan or cookie sheet. Roast for fifteen minutes, tossing several times to make sure they get browned evenly.
Meanwhile, for the garnish, cut four ounces of Serrano ham (I used Prosciutto) into thin strips and cook over medium-high heat in a skillet. There is no need to add oil as the ham will render some fat quickly. Cook until the strips begin to brown and get crispy. Roughly chop some flat leaf parsley for additional garnish. Don’t skip this, the green brightens the final dish and lightens the flavor too.
Spoon the sauce into a large serving bowl and place the chicken on top. Garnish with the ham strips and parsley. Serve the potatoes on the side. Don’t forget the white wine!
Basque Chicken with Roasted Potatoes
- 1-1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 4 T olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion sliced
- 4 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 c petite diced tomatoes
- 1/2 c dry white wine
- 4 oz Serrano ham
- 2 sprigs flat leaf parsley
- 1 pound of fingerling potatoes
- optional sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Begin by seasoning the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and browning it in a pan with half of the olive oil. It does not need to be cooked through. Set the chicken aside.
Add onion, red and yellow pepper, minced garlic, and diced tomatoes to the pan and cook until everything is softened, about ten minutes.
Add wine and cover to simmer on low for thirty minutes. Taste the sauce and season with additional salt and pepper if needed but be careful to not make the dish salty due to the garnish later. Also, a small amount of sugar may be added if the tomatoes are particularly acidic. Add the chicken back in and continue to simmer on low for an additional 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and slightly falling apart.
During the simmer, prepare the potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400º and cut potatoes in halves or quarters depending on size. Toss them in the remaining olive oil and salt and place them in a roasting pan or cookie sheet. Roast for 15 minutes, tossing several times to make sure they get browned evenly.
Meanwhile, for the garnish, cut the ham (I used Prosciutto) into thin strips and cook over medium-high heat in a skillet. There is no need to add oil as the ham will render some fat quickly. Cook until the strips begin to brown and get crispy. Roughly chop some flat leaf parsley for additional garnish.
Spoon the sauce into a large serving bowl and place the chicken on top. Garnish with the ham strips and parsley. Serve the potatoes on the side.
On a side note…
We hope you enjoy following us along our journey across Spain and Portugal in the coming weeks. Hit subscribe for up to date blog
0 Comments