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ESCOFFIER CHICKEN marseillaise

FCA content editor 
An unusual chicken dish that beautifully blends chili pepers with classic French techniques.

This simple Escoffier gem, Poulet Sauté a la Marseillaise, blends mild chili pepers with classic French techniques to create a fiery flavor profile. Now the escoffier guide culinaire mentioned “piment” which are jalapenos here and it works but you can make it using the mild chili peper too.

INGREDIENTS

For 4 people

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

  • 10-12 chicken tenders

  • Salt and pepper to season

  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour

  • 2 tbsp olive oil to cook the chicken plus 2 tbsp to cook the garnish

  • 1 clove garlic, pressed

  • 60 g (2 oz) fresh pimientos peppers or jalapenos for something spicier, sliced seed removed)

  • 2 tbsp bell pepper, peeled and finely diced

  • 3 small tomatoes, peeled and quartered

  • 100 ml (3.5 fl oz) white wine

  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

MISE EN PLACE

Season the chicken tenders and lightly dust them with flour. Ditch the flour if you’re gluten free.

Method

  1. In a medium-sized saucepan or sauté pan, heat the oil and add the garlic. Cook for a minute, then add the chili and diced bell pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes, add seasoning, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside in a small dish.

  2. In a separate frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and pan-fry the chicken for 10 minutes, turning them over once to brown evenly on both sides. When cooked, transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

  3. Deglaze the same saucepan with wine and cook for a few minutes to reduce the liquid to roughly one tablespoon, then pour the juice over the chicken.

  4. To serve, you can mix the chicken and garnish together in the frying pan, then serve, or place the chicken neatly on its own onto a dish and spoon the chili tomato garnish over it. For a touch of freshness, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

TIP

If tomatoes are not in season in your local area, use quality tinned whole tomatoes instead. (Make sure to rinse and seed the tomatoes, using only the tomatoes themselves. You can reserve the tomato sauce in the tin for something else.)