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Polenta À La Basquaise With Peppers, Tomatoes, and Egg: A Light and Refreshing Casserole Recipe
Of all the different recipes that I’ve done, few have been more productive of different variations and provided more inspiration than Poulet basquaise. There are plenty of different variations of Poulet basquaise, Basque chicken literally, with wildly differing spices, tomatoes, peppers, and oils that constitute it, but in any case it’s a great classic of French bistro cooking., elegant, chic, with vibrant and energetic, dynamic, flavors.
I’ve made so many different recipes based off the Poulet basquaise principle, the idea of having chicken coated with spices that is combined with a sautéed mixture of sautéed vegetable and onion with a heady mixture of spices and garlic, baked in a casserole dish in the oven, that it’s almost a chore to list them all. There is a mushroom dill version that I quite liked, one of my favorites with an Indian-style arrangement of spices (not Indian but inspired by Indian tastes), and some I’m still working on, such as a honey-mustard one that I’m still fiddling around with for the flavors to get the effect I desire.
But Poulet basquaise is also one of those recipes that can be endlessly varied for the chicken as well. One time I had made a tuna version, but this was only because I had an aunt visiting who eats very light and prefers fish, so I had gone for tuna steaks instead of chicken, and it wasn’t supposed to be an original recipe. Just as one can play around with a huge number of different flavors however, it’s also entirely possible to play around with the central ingredients, and this is what inspired me behind the idea of coming up with a polenta version of Poulet basquaise.
Polenta has been my most recent crown jewel. Just as with Poulet basquaise it’s endlessly variable, and it has such a built in wonderful taste, warm, inviting, buttery. I’ve thrown it into a huge number of different recipes recently, in baked, fried, and mushed forms, and it has never disappointed me. It is also a perfect vehicle for other flavors to accompany it, since its flavor, while rich and comforting, is also a very flexible one that can be modified as one wants. Mostly I’ve cooked polenta in the instant, tube form (although I have gotten a bag of actual polenta meal recently), and this itself comes in some different types, with both the basic polenta and also basil and sun-dried tomato versions, both of which I’ve quite enjoyed. You can have so many different types of herbs to accompany it though, and I’ve enjoyed having it with garlic confit, eggplant, chèvre, rosemary, and a host of other flavors. I even used it as the base of a meatloaf!
This made me think that it would be a great way to make a vegetarian version of Poulet basquaise. The tube version of polenta is solid enough that it’s surprisingly resilient, and you can use it to form patties, wedges, sandwiches, etc. Instead of having pieces of chicken, why not pieces of polenta?
Going with this turned out to make a wonderfully light and refreshing meal, the perfect dish for a warm spring evening or summer night. The polenta chunks on the bottom are delightfully seasoned with their flavors of thyme, tarragon, and paprika, and intermixed with individual garlic cloves. Then on top of that is a heady combination of cilantro, and sautéed bell peppers and onion. Add in some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, and seasonings of salt and pepper, and you have a great combination of different flavors, with soothing polenta, the complex intensity of tomatoes, the honest goodness and savoriness of tomatoes and onions, and all of it paired with a wonderful host of different herbs!
As with some other primarily vegetarian dishes that I’ve made, such as some variations of Moroccan shakshuka, I’ve also opted to put eggs on the top, that cook with the dish in the oven. I like the soothing effect of these eggs and the protein that they give, but they’re perfectly optional. If you did want a vegetarian – even vegan actually – dish, then they could be left out without any prejudice to the rest of the dish
This recipe is entirely my own.
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce tube, instant polenta (preferably basil-flavored)
- 1 onion, peeled and minced
- 4 bell peppers, cored and diced
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled
- 8 ounces cherry tomatoes, (around half a normal package)
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon tarragon
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, stem removed
- 3 sprigs rosemary, stems removed, washed, needles chopped
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 4 eggs, optional
- balsamic vinegar, plentiful for seasoning
- olive oil, to saute
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onion. Core and seed the bell peppers and dice them. In a large skillet, heat olive oil, and then add in the onion and saute briefly before adding in the bell peppers too. Saute for around 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Open up the polenta package, and slice it into circa ¾ inch slices across. Then slice each of these into four individual wedges. In the bottom of a casserole dish, 9x14 inches, place the polenta wedges and season with the paprika, thyme, and tarragon, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Add in the garlic cloves, peeled, cilantro, and then the cherry tomatoes.
- Over this, distribute the onion-bell pepper mixture until it covers it in a flat layer. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, and add in some balsamic vinegar. Remove the rosemary needles from the twigs, chop roughly, and add this on top.
- Place into a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. If using the eggs, after 30 minutes remove from oven and crack the eggs over the surface, and cook for another 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. If not using eggs, just cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Remove, and serve warm. Extra balsamic vinegar for serving is a good addition.
