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BASQUE CHICKEN

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Serves: 4

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  • Gluten Free
What does this mean?

Not exactly quick, but certainly easy. The juices of the vegetables marinate and stew the chicken, and then are reduced back into the vegetables during the second part of the bake. This is a guarantee for fall-off-the-bone meat. When combined with roasted fingerling or yukon gold potatoes (especially hasselback style with some fresh dill), this is a superb supper any time of the year. Also fun to vary the heat of the dish with your pepper choices! If you have favourites in the sugar and salt categories, by all means apply them here. Also, if serving in small portions, a mesclun salad with figs, pecans and warm brie in raspberry-lemon vinaigrette is a lovely starter, if a little nouveau-American gauche. Enjoy.

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Ingredients

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  • 1 chicken
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 4 large capsicum peppers (seeded, deveined, and butterflied)
  • 2 sweet onion (sliced thinly)
  • 150 ml red wine (full bodied)
  • 4 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
  • 4 teaspoons fresh thyme
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 1 sea salt (coarse)
  • 1 caster sugar
  • 1 paprika
  • 1 extra virgin olive oil
  • lemons (wedges)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
  2. Lightly oil bottom of earthenware crock or deep casserole, just enough to coat.
  3. Place butterflied peppers skin-side-up in continuous layer at bottom of pan. Overlapping is fine, bare areas are not.
  4. Sprinkle minced garlic over peppers. Rub chicken pieces with butter, coat with thyme, sea salt, and paprika.
  5. Place chicken evenly over pepper layer. Smother seasoned chicken with sliced onions, leaving no flesh visible.
  6. Distribute wine over onions. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Stuff bay leaves throughout. Cover. (aluminium foil is ok if no lid)
  7. Bake for one hour on center or lower rack of oven. Raise temperature of oven to 230 C. Remove foil, bake until onions begin to turn brown (a little charring is actually nice).
  8.  Serve chicken pieces topped or sided with the caramelized veg. Lemon wedges and more salt if you're into it.
  9. Warm crusty bread and butter if you've no time for other accoutrements.
  10. Will keep well for about 2 days max covered in fridge.

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  • Please excuse my ignorance, but what, pray, are butterflied peppers?

    Posted by GinaS on 3rd Feb 2012 at 13.37