Pollo Euscaro (Basque Chicken)

Basque cooking is built on vegetables, and this chicken braise shows why. Eggplant, mushrooms, tomato, green pepper, onions, and garlic all get briefly sautéed in the same fat used to brown the chicken, then everything goes into a covered casserole with a splash of white wine for 45 minutes in the oven.

Browning the chicken in a mix of butter and bacon drippings gives the skin a golden crust and leaves behind flavorful fond in the skillet. Those brown bits get scraped up with the wine and poured into the casserole, carrying all that concentrated savory flavor into the braise.

The small amount of wine is intentional. The vegetables release enough water during baking to create their own sauce, so extra liquid would make it soupy. What you end up with is tender chicken sitting in a thick, aromatic vegetable stew flavored with basil and thyme.

The garlic goes in crushed but unpeeled. The skin holds the clove together during braising and you can fish it out before serving, leaving behind just the mellow garlic flavor infused into the sauce.

Chef Tips

• Brown the chicken well on all sides. Good color on the skin means good flavor in the braise
• Don’t peek or lift the lid during baking. The steam trapped inside does the cooking
• The vegetables should only soften for 2 to 3 minutes in the skillet. They finish cooking in the oven
• Serve straight from the casserole with crusty bread to soak up the juices

Variations

• Add diced zucchini to the vegetable mix for an even more loaded braise
• Use chicken thighs instead of breasts for richer, more forgiving dark meat
• Stir in a pinch of smoked paprika (pimentón) for a more authentically Basque seasoning