Poulet Basquaise

This is - hands down - one of the best chicken dishes that I have made!!! And (of course) I didn't get a picture of it while I was cooking since I was entertaining and chatting away. Don't worry...just trust me. You want to make it and you want to eat it, so run to the grocery store and get all the ingredients today!

This recipe comes from the Basque region in Southern France. I had the opportunity to travel through the south of France in the early 2000s and it was a pleasure to eat such great food, such as this.

Poulet Basquaise
From Food & Wine Magazine - Anthony Bourdain

Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 lb, cut into 8 pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of cayenne pepper or piment d’Espelètte
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1 TBS butter
- 2 red bell peppers, cut into fine julienne
- 2 green bell peppers, cut into fine julienne
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 16 ounces canned Italian plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cube chicken bouillon or 1/2 cup light chicken stock or broth 
- 3 sprigs of flat parsley, finely chopped (I forgot to add this and it tasted fine)
- Rice pilaf as a side dish

NOTE: I used two 14.5 oz cans of petite diced tomatoes with garlic. I like a lot of tomatoes and garlic; it added great flavor , but I do think two cans was way to much. I couldn't find a 16oz can of tomatoes anywhere, so next time I will use one can only.

NOTE 2: Bourdain says this is one dish that can handle a bouillon cube.

Season the chicken all over with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Heat the large pot over medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the butter. When the butter has foamed and subsided, add the chicken, skin side down, and brown on that side only. Remove the chicken and set aside on the plate.

Add the peppers and onion to the pot and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the wine, scraping, scraping—as always—to get the good stuff up. Cook until the wine is reduced by half, then add the water and the bouillon. Return the chicken to the pot, making sure to add all the juice on the plate.

Cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 25 minutes. Remove the chicken to the platter. Crank up the heat to high and reduce the sauce for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the parsley. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with rice pilaf.