Pipérade Recipe
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Pipérade trumpets the versatility of French Basque cuisine. A simple sauté is enlivened with the local cured pork, Bayonne ham, and a spicy paprika known as piment d’Espelette. It’s great over braised chicken, but you can also heed Julia Child’s advice and use it to top a plain omelet.
What to buy: If you’re looking to save time, you can substitute a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes for the fresh; be sure to drain the canned tomatoes first.
Bayonne ham is a cured ham product from the French Basque country. If you can’t find it, substitute prosciutto.
Piment d’Espelette is France’s only native pepper, and it is so highly revered that it is protected by AOC status. It has a nice heat and is worth seeking out at a gourmet grocery or online. If you have trouble finding it, you can substitute cayenne or paprika.
This dish was featured as part of our Recipes for Summer Ingredients photo gallery.
- 6 medium tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 ounces thinly sliced Bayonne ham, cut into 1/2-inch squares
- 2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium dried bay leaf
- 2 medium red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cleaned and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
- 2 medium green bell peppers, cleaned and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips
- Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons piment d’Espelette
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a medium bowl halfway with ice and water. Using the tip of a knife, remove the stem and cut a shallow X-shape into the bottom of each tomato. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water and blanch until the skin just starts to pucker and loosen, about 10 seconds. Drain and immediately immerse the tomatoes in the ice water bath. Using a small knife, peel the loosened skin and cut each tomato in half. With a small spoon, scrape out any seeds, then core and coarsely chop the remaining flesh. Set aside.
- Place a large Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil shimmers, add the ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s golden brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ham to a plate and set aside.
- Return the pan to heat, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and, once heated, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring rarely, until soft and beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Stir in the herbs and pepper slices and season well with salt. Cover and cook, stirring rarely, until the peppers are slightly softened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, browned ham, and piment d’Espelette and season well with salt. Cook uncovered until the mixture melds and the juices have slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve.
I should have mentioned that simply copying "but you can also heed Julia Child’s advice" isn't the same as giving her credit for the recipe.
That this recipe is the same as Julia Childs' isn't a problem for me. Not giving her credit, is.
http://www.grouprecipes.com/42922/jul...
i find their statement: "Piment d’Espelette is France’s only native pepper, and it is so highly revered that it is protected by AOC status" to be misleading. There aren't really any peppers that are "native" outside the new world in that they didn't exist elsewhere until post-Columbus. now, it may well be a pepper specific to France from them creating a specialized hybrid, but that doesn't make it "native" to France. native to me means it came from a place naturally (i.e. not via people transporting it there).
Aldente, once the chicken is browned (in the recipe for Basque chicken), then put on the piperade, the piperade will certainly have sufficient liquid, from the tomatoes and other veggies (onion, peppers) to provide enough moisture for the chicken to 'stew' or 'braise'. Too much water, and you just have a tomato/chicken soup! ;~}
I am wondering if there is enough liquid from the piperade to cook the chicken.
don't know why they say there are few recipes. Seach on Basque chiken.
see this one:
http://www.easy-french-food.com/basqu...
Fishie, I'm no authority, but IMHO turkey bacon would be just fine!
I would just leave the ham out. The paprika is the main thing. I would use the spanish pimenton de vera. There are as many piperades as cooks.
I feel weird about asking this because I tend to be a food purist at least when I'm cooking for myself, but would it work to substitute turkey bacon for the ham/proscuitto? I want to make this (in the Chicken Basquaise recipe) for my parents, and my mom absolutely cannot eat pork products. Would turkey bacon be sufficient?
Good chicken recipe,not clear what to do about paprika,any suggestion
on how much paprika/ cayenne ratio.Thanks for the advise Wlodek,
This is alo very good with eggs cooked on top of it, put it in a skillet, and drop the raw eggs onto the piperade and cook until desired doneness. (Cover a bit if you want the whites all solid) You can easily vary the heat to the desired level by changing the proportions of paprika and cayenne.
... while of course 2 teaspoonfuls of sweet Hungarian paprika would be great (I really like this recipe, it will work well next weekend in my wood-fired oven too).
Just go easy with heat and sweet paprika, as it can go bitter when overheated. I add it late in the cooking process - I heard this advice while working in Hungary - not sure how well substantiated it is.
:-)
2 teaspoons of cayenne would make this otherwise delicious concoction totally inedible.