Cuisine Featured: Basque
The Melting Pot section is where we have placed recipes for cuisines brought to America by the many immigrants to our shores. Over the years these cuisines have been Americanized, i.e., most viewers of our site have probably been exposed to many of these cuisines, either via the dining-out route or, perhaps, directly within our own families due to the multi-ethnic makeup therein. As an example of this multi-ethnicity within a single family, I can cite my own case-- My family consists of the following ethnicities: English, Irish, Scottish, German, Polish and Greek. Is it any wonder then that America is called the Melting Pot?
At the bottom of this page, you will have an opportunity to E-mail us and give us your thoughts on this page. We encourage this. After all, we will be tailoring this "Cooking Around the World" series according to the wishes of our viewers.
A 2½- to 3-pound chicken, cut 3 T all-purpose flour
into 8 pieces ½ pound boiled ham, cut into
½ tsp salt ¼-inch dice (1 c)
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper ¼ tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
½ c olive oil 1 c dry white wine
¾ c finely chopped onions ½ pound medium-sized shrimp
1½ tsp finely chopped garlic 2 T finely chopped parsley
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Wash the pieces of chicken under cold running water and pat them
thoroughly dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the pieces of chicken with the
salt and pepper. In a heavy 10- to 12-inch stainless-steel or enameled
skillet, heat the olive oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms
above it. Add the pieces of chicken to the skillet and cook for 4 or 5
minutes on each side, or until the chicken is golden brown. Transfer the
chicken to a 2½- to 3-quart casserole and set aside.Drop the onions and garlic into the skillet and cook over moderate heat until the onions are golden brown. Mix in the flour and, stirring constantly, cook for another 1 or 2 minutes.
Stir in the ham and paprika, pour in the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the contents of the skillet over the chicken and set the casserole over high heat. Bring to a boil, then cover the casserole tightly, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Shell the shrimp. Devein them by making a shallow incision down their backs with a small, sharp knife, and lifting out the black or white intestinal vein with the point of the knife. Wash the shrimp under cold running water and set them aside.
To test the chicken for doneness, pierce a thigh with the tip of a small, sharp knife. The juice that spurts out should be clear yellow; if it is tinged with pink, cook the chicken for 5 minutes longer. Arrange the shrimp on top of the chicken, cover the casserole again and cook for 5 minutes longer, until the shrimp are pink.
Arrange the pieces of chicken and the shrimp attractively on a heated serving platter and ladle the sauce in the casserole over them. Sprinkle with parsley and serve at once. Serves 4.
