Chicken Basquaise

So last night I was making dinner. I had planned on making chicken with peppers, but bell pepper prices have been ridiculous lately because of the cold winter here in Florida, so that was out. I looked through my crisper drawer and didn't find much that wasn't slated to be used for our Passover seder... hmmmm, here's some onions, some celery, some garlic... there are some cans of tomatoes in the pantry... aha, Chicken Basquaise it is!

I adapted this recipe from a cookbook that I appear to have gotten rid of in my last cookbook purge. With millions of recipes available online now, I've pared down my cookbook collection to less than a dozen volumes, plus my mom's recipes and the ones I've collected over the years.

Looking at some other online versions, many versions use bone-in chicken; I prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Some call for ham, but I don't add that. And, some call for bell peppers - obviously I didn't add any this time!

And sorry no picture this week - we were so hungry, we devoured it before I realized that I hadn't taken one!

Chicken Basquaise

2 onions, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes in tomato juice
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

In a large saute pan over medium heat, saute diced onions in olive oil until softened. Add celery and saute for 3 more minutes or until very soft. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute - do not allow garlic to brown. Remove vegetables from pot into a medium bowl. Add more oil to the pan if necessary. Saute chicken for 4-5 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Add vegetables back to the pan and mix with chicken. Add canned tomatoes, hot sauce, oregano, and pepper and turn the heat to high. When sauce begins to boil, turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over brown rice.

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