Spanish Style Chicken

Russ and I have had lots of fun dinner plans lately that have all involved me not cooking or just doing simple dishes like burger or steaks, so I have not blogged once this month. So, after slow start to June as far as cooking I did try my first recipe out of the new June CL tonight. This issue had a few that caught my eye, but overall was not a winner for me. The Spicy Basque-Style Chicken did stand out to me as a tasty recipe that would be great for a weeknight dinner. I also have a soft place in my heart for any Spanish cuisine after having lived there for a semester during college. While I haven’t been in the Basque region the tomato / green olive combination does remind me of Spanish cuisine.

Jess and Hugo came over for dinner tonight. Cash was very excited as this meant he had buddies over to play two nights in a row since Chester and Wag (and their parents) came over for a Corn Hole tournament last night. Since Jess spent a year and a half living in Spain and is a fan of CL I thought the Spicy Basque-Style Chicken would be the perfect dish for tonight.

You start by sprinkling the paprika and pepper on the chicken and sautéing it. Then you add the garlic and once the chicken has sautéed for a little longer you add the olives and tomatoes. This comes to a boil and then you bring it down to a simmer. Lastly you remove the chicken and bring the tomato /olive mixture back to a boil for a few minutes and then you sprinkle the basil and prosciutto on top. For the cans of tomatoes with chiles I used one mild and one hot. I did make a few minor changes to recipe including using chicken breasts (not tenders) cut into strips, adding sliced onions, and using speck instead of proscuitto (per Russ’ request). I served the chicken over saffron rice with a side of steamed broccoli.

The chicken with the tomato, olive mixture had great flavor to it with a kick from the chiles. We all really liked it and it definitely had a Spanish taste to it. I especially like the green olive / tomato flavor combination. I definitely think two cans of tomatoes with chiles that are hot would be too spicy for me. Unless you can handle lots of spice I would use at least one mild.

CL touts it as a 20 minute meal which it could be, but it took me a little longer. I sliced my own olives and chopped fresh garlic both of which would add a little time into the preparations. It is quick and easy dish to put together and cook. The part that took the longest for me was waiting for the rice to finish, however, in hindsight I should have started the rice sooner than I did.

It was a good Spanish style meal that made me start thinking that I need to make Gloria's paella sometime soon. I have only made it once before and it is a lot of work, but very tasty (although it falls very short of Gloria's who makes the world's best paella) and brings back wonderful memories. Gail - You and Martin will have to drive over to join us for paella when I do make it.

Russ and Jess rate the Basque Style Chicken a 8. Hugo had a small bite and gave it two paws up. Cash was too busy playing to try the chicken. He and Hugo got new stuffed animals from Mom tonight. Cash promptly set a personal best with destroying the bunny doll in five minutes. I have included a picture of him almost done with the bunny - stuffing was flying everywhere.