Basque Chicken and Saffron Rice

Start the rice and let it cook while you prepare the chicken.

Remove fat from chicken breasts and flatten to 1/2-inch thickness with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a heavy skillet.

Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken 2 minutes, turn and brown another 2 minutes. Salt and pepper the cooked sides, remove to a plate and cover with foil or another plate to keep warm.

Add onion, ham and tomatoes to skillet. Saute 5 minutes. Add roasted peppers and hot pepper sauce to the skillet. Return chicken to skillet. Saute 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken over rice and spoon sauce on top.

For Basque Saffron Rice: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Using an oven-proof casserole that also can be used on a burner, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and rice.

Saute 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and saffron. Bring to a boil, cover and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and add salt and pepper to taste.

cook's notes

While on a recent trip to the Basque region of Spain, I was served a sauteed chicken with a sauce of roasted red peppers, onion, tomatoes and ham. The combination of onion, tomato, garlic and red pepper is used in many cuisines. The Spanish call it sofrito. The Basque version differs by using lots of red pepper and some hot peppers.

Pilaf, sometimes called pilau, is a rice dish that begins with first sauteing rice and then cooking it in broth. This can be done in the oven or on a burner.