In honor of the World Cup matches taking place in Atlanta, we’re sharing recipes representing some of the teams playing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in June and July. We’re starting with Spain, sharing the recipe for chicken Basquaise from Atlanta restaurant Cooks & Soldiers.
“Chicken Basquaise is essentially chicken cooked with, or served over, that piperade base, making it one of the classic dishes prepared à la basquaise,” said John Castellucci, Culinary Director for Castellucci Hospitality Group.
The dish is popular on both the Spanish and French sides of the region.
“On the Spanish side, you are more likely to see that same flavor profile served with seafood, especially in a dish like merluza a la piperrada with hake or another white fish,” Castellucci said. “On the French side, including coastal towns like Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the preparation is often associated with chicken.”
At the heart of chicken Basquaise is the piperade, a traditional stew made with peppers, onions, tomatoes, pimentón, saffron, and sherry vinegar. Depending on where you are in Basque Country, you’ll find piperade served with fish, meat, chicken, or eggs.
Castellucci gives his chicken Basquaise a Southern spin by semi-deboning and marinating the chicken in buttermilk overnight. The chicken is then grilled until it caramelizes. Cooks & Soldiers serves its chicken Basquaise with saucy piperade.
Related stories:
• More recipes from Rough Draft Atlanta
• More World Cup coverage
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 cup chicken marinade
- 2 cups piperade base
Marinade
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tsp coriander seeds toasted and ground
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin seeds
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
Piperade
- 1 green bell pepper, julienned
- 5 red bell peppers, julienned
- 1 poblano pepper, julienned
- 1/2 minced garlic
- 3 onions, julienned
- 6 fresh bay leaves
- 3 cups San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 Tbsp Pimenton Dulce
- 1 Tbsp Pimenton Picante
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- Salt, to taste
Directions
- Make the marinade: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to incorporate all of the spices evenly.
- Marinate the chicken: Split the chicken in half down the spine. Remove the spine and back carcass. Split chicken in half along the breastbone to create two equal halves.
- Massage chicken in the chicken marinade for 3 to 4 minutes to ensure full coverage. Submerge in marinade and refrigerate for at least 12 to 24 hours.
- Make the piperade: Put a rondo pot or large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions to the dry pan with no salt. (You want to caramelize the onions and develop a deep brown color, and adding salt or oil will slow down this process. As the onions heat up they will release their own moisture.)
- Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic is translucent, then add saffron. Add all peppers, bay leaves and spices. keep heat on low to medium.
- Once peppers start to soften but still al dente, add San Marzano tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cut off the heat. It should be slightly saucy.
- Add salt and sherry vinegar. Remove from pan and let cool. Serve or refrigerate for future use. It reheats extremely well the following day, in case there are any leftovers.
- Cook the chicken: Pre-heat grill. Remove chicken from marinate and season again with salt.
- Place onto hot grill grates. The chicken will caramelize a little quicker because of the fat in the marinade. Once you have nice caramelization on the grill, lower the temperature to let the chicken continue to cook until fully done.
- If you do not have a grill, you can roast the chicken at 400F with the skin up until it turns golden brown.
- Using a kitchen thermometer, measure a chicken thigh’s temperature. A fully cooked chicken thigh will read at 160F.
- Remove from grill or oven, let cool, and serve with piperade.
