French recipe

Poulet Basquaise

Name: Poulet Basquaise
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French cuisine
Ingredients: 800 g boneless skinless chicken breasts, 4 similar pieces; 500 g red and green peppers, seeded and cut into 2 cm pieces; 600 g ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped; 180 g onion, thinly sliced; 12 g garlic, minced; 45 ml olive oil, divided 30 ml for chicken and 15 ml for vegetables; 150 ml dry white wine; 15 g tomato paste; 1 g Espelette pepper; 2 g fresh thyme sprigs; 1 bay leaf; 4 g fine salt, divided equally; 1 g black pepper

Chicken breast portions gently simmered with red and green peppers, tomatoes, white wine and a little Espelette pepper.

France

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 1 hr 10 min
Servings: 4

Pale chicken portions in red tomato sauce with red-green peppers and onion — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Arnaud 25Source page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

800 g
boneless skinless chicken breasts, 4 similar pieces
500 g
red and green peppers, seeded and cut into 2 cm pieces
600 g
ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
180 g
onion, thinly sliced
12 g
garlic, minced
45 ml
olive oil, divided 30 ml for chicken and 15 ml for vegetables
150 ml
dry white wine
15 g
tomato paste
1 g
Espelette pepper
2 g
fresh thyme sprigs
1
bay leaf
4 g
fine salt, divided equally
1 g
black pepper

Method

01
Prepare the vegetables and chicken
Prepare the vegetables as listed. Pat chicken dry without washing and season with half the salt and all the black pepper. Keep raw-chicken utensils away from the vegetables.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Sear the chicken
Heat 30 ml oil in a wide heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sear chicken for 3 minutes per side until lightly golden, then transfer to a clean plate; the centre is not cooked yet.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Soften the peppers and onion
Add the remaining 15 ml oil. Cook onion over medium heat for 5 minutes, peppers for another 6 minutes, then garlic for 1 minute. Stir frequently so the garlic stays pale.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Simmer the tomato sauce
Stir in tomato paste for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, wine, thyme, bay, Espelette and remaining salt. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes until the tomatoes soften and the sauce becomes juicy.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Finish cooking the chicken
Nestle chicken and its juices into the sauce. Cover and simmer gently for 12–18 minutes, turning once, until the thickest part reaches 74°C. Continue gently if needed; do not rely on colour alone.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Concentrate the vegetable sauce
Lift the cooked chicken onto a warm plate. Remove thyme and bay. Simmer the vegetables uncovered 5–7 minutes until the sauce lightly coats them, keeping the pepper pieces intact.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Reunite and serve
Return chicken to the sauce for 2 minutes over low heat. Rest off the heat for 3 minutes, then divide between four warm bowls with the peppers, onions and tomato juices.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Use equally thick chicken portions so they reach doneness at a similar time.
Let ripe tomatoes provide the liquid before adding extra water.

Common mistakes

Boiling breast meat hard makes it dry; keep the covered cooking stage gentle.
Reduce excess sauce with the cooked chicken removed so it does not overcook.

Substitutions

Use 600 g chopped canned tomatoes in place of ripe fresh tomatoes.
Replace Espelette with 1 g mild paprika and a small pinch of cayenne if desired.

Storage

Divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed to 74°C throughout.

Cultural context

Peppers, tomatoes and Espelette give this southwestern French dish its character. This version uses boneless breast portions and a shorter gentle braise.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Poulet basquaise 01 — Photograph by Arnaud 25; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to French recipes

Poulet Basquaise

Ingredients

Method

Prepare the vegetables and chicken

Sear the chicken

Soften the peppers and onion

Simmer the tomato sauce

Finish cooking the chicken

Concentrate the vegetable sauce

Reunite and serve

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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