Basquaise Chicken (Poulet Basquaise in French) comes from French Basque country located between France and Spain, on the Atlantic coast. It is crossed by the western Pyrénées chain.
Basquaise Chicken uses two main ingredients coming from the French Basque country: Espelette pepper and Bayonne Ham (a cured ham). The chicken is cooked in a sauce called Pipérade made of peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlics, salt, and pepper.
I used my pressure cooker to make Basquaise Chicken. I remember that during my childhood, my mom often used her pressure cooker and recommended it to her friends. In a family of six, it was a time-saver. You can have a delicious meal full of flavor in record time.
In the US, I have discovered the popular slow cooker but after a few attempts at recipes, I often was disappointed with the result. Recently, I bought a pressure cooker and I am amazed by the fact that it is so quick and the meat has a deep rich flavor and melting texture.
Now, finally having a pressure cooker, I chose to publish the Basquaise Chicken as a first recipe.
Basquaise Chicken - Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- Olive oil
- Salt, pepper
- 150 g Bayonne Ham or Prosciutto (easier to find) cut into strips
- Espelette pepper (french pepper) or substitute cayenne or hot paprika
- 2 onions finely sliced
- 3-4 pepper skinless and cut in ¼ inch strip
- 3 garlic cloves in half without the germ
- 4 tomatoes peeled without the seeds and cut into ¼ inch strip
- 1 fresh sprig of thyme
- Sugar
- 100 ml white wine
- 120 ml warm chicken stock
Instructions
- In the pressure cooker, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When it is hot put in the chicken, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes then flip each piece of chicken and add salt and pepper. Add Bayonne/prosciutto ham and 1 or 2 pinches of Espelette pepper/cayenne or hot paprika. Stir and remove the chicken and ham.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the pressure cooker and the onions. Let them cook for 2 minutes at medium heat, stirring from time to time. Add the pepper and garlic. Stir and let them cook for 2 minutes in stirring 1 or 2 times. Add the tomatoes, thyme, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of sugar. Stir. Put the chicken on the vegetables. Add the white wine and let it reduce until there is no more liquid (keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn!). At last add the warm chicken stock.
- Close the pressure. When the steam escapes, turn down the heat and cook according to the specified time (18 minutes for me).
- Remove the thyme from the pressure cooker and serve on top of steamed rice. My family enjoys this with couscous.
Russell Kaye
Hi Franciose…met Your husband and son at Decatur Makers yesterday. I’m a photographer and food enthusiast – had to write to say I enjoyed checking out your blog…And I love my pressure cooker. My into to the method was via “cooking under pressure” and in the last few years, I’ve learned to combine the pressure cooker with the broiler or the grill – with things like ribs or a tenderloin or even whole chicken breasts….create the flavors quickly in the moist pressure and then finish on a roaring hot fire to add the sizzle or the char to the outside. I don’t read a lot of food stuff lately and Was curious if you’ve seen any recipes that speak to this? Best- Russell
Francoise
Nice to meet you and thank you for visiting my cooking blog. I use my pressure cooker as a steamer or to make some stew recipes such as tagine, beef bourguignon, coq au vin… At first, I brown my meat in the pressure cooker (like in a regular saute pan, dutch oven), then finish the recipe in pressure cooker mode in a record time with a meat which is very tender. At the end this feel like grandma recipe. I didn’t yet attempt as you any recipe requiring grill or broiler after cooking in pressure cooker but planning to try this. Best Regards. Francoise
Jessica
Hello, I am trying to figure out how much ham to add in this recipe. It only says 150, and of course I’m an American and can’t figure out what unit of measure to use. Thank you!
Francoise
Hi, Jessica, It is 150 g of ham (about 5 oz). Sorry and thank you for catching that! Let me know how it was if you try this recipe. Thank you!