Basque in the Heat

A saucy mixture called piperade - made by sauteing onions, tomatoes, and bell and chili peppers - is one of the celebrated dishes of the Basque Country, a region that straddles the French-Spanish border along the western Pyrenees and the rugged coastline of the Bay of Biscay. Among cooks, the variations in piperade (named after piper, or pepper) are endless. The tomato-pepper mixture is often cooked with eggs, in a spicy scrambled dish. Piperade can also be combined with the Basque region's salty hams, robust farmstead chickens, or fish. Sometimes the dish is offered as a condiment; other times, it is used as a cooking sauce. Chicken basquaise, popular on many French tables in the region, is simmered with piperade's sunny ingredients. With our ripe native vegetables, it can easily be transported to this side of the Atlantic. Our warm September nights can be the backdrop.

PIPERADE
SERVES 4
In parts of the region, the tomato-pepper mixture is made with a smoky, paprikalike spice called piment d'Espelette, named for the town of Espelette, where red chilies are smoked over wood fires. (A 3- to 4-ounce package is $12.95 at Formaggio Kitchen, 617-354-4750.) Regular sweet paprika or a smoked paprika, called pimenton (available at www.tienda.com), can be used instead.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2 Anaheim peppers, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
5 ripe plum tomatoes, cored
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped Pinch of sugar
1/8 teaspoon piment d'Espelette, sweet smoked paprika, or sweet paprika
In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion, bell peppers, Anaheim peppers, and salt and black pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Have on hand a large bowl of very cold water.
Add half of the tomatoes to the boiling water and blanch for 15 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes to the cold water.
Blanch the remaining tomatoes in the same way. Set the bowl under a cold tap so the water stays cold.
Lift out the tomatoes. Use a paring knife to peel the skins. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and remove the seeds (there will still be pockets of seeds, but that's OK). Coarsely chop the flesh.
Stir the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, and piment or paprika into the skillet of peppers. Turn the heat to low. Cook the vegetables over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they collapse completely and most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, black pepper, or piment if you like.
Use as a sauce for grilled fish or chicken or as directed.

PIPERADE WITH EGGS
SERVES 4
Here, the tomato-pepper mixture and eggs are cooked together, but you can also use the piperade as a base and top it with poached eggs. Or make two large omelets and garnish them with piperade.
1 recipe piperade (see left)
8 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)
In a skillet, heat the piperade. Pour the eggs on top of the vegetables and add salt and pepper. Gently stir the eggs into the piperade. Continue stirring gently over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until the eggs set and form big flakes.
Divide the mixture among 4 plates, sprinkle with parsley, and serve at once.

CHICKEN BASQUAISE
SERVES 4
The dish improves on keeping, so prepare it a day in advance, if you can. To reheat, simmer for 5 minutes.
4 chicken breast halves (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 whole chicken legs (about 1 pound)
Olive oil (for sprinkling)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 recipe piperade (see left)
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Set the oven to 400 degrees. In a roasting pan, arrange the chicken skin side up. Sprinkle the skin with oil, salt, and pepper.
Roast the chicken for 30 minutes (it will not be cooked through).
In a large flameproof casserole, heat the piperade until it is hot. Add the chicken and the stock, along with any juices from the roasting pan. Spoon the piperade onto the chicken. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cover the pan. Simmer gently for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the legs from the pan and use kitchen shears to cut them in half. Cut each breast in half horizontally. Arrange chicken on 4 deep plates, spoon the mixture in the pan over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley, and serve at once.

Ask the Cooks: Juicy Secrets

No matter how I cook pork chops, they always come out dry. How can I prepare them so they are as juicy as those I've had in restaurants?
AMY HALL ///South Boston

You are most likely overcooking the meat. Our fat-conscious society has pushed industry standards for pork toward super lean. Without the fat, meat can easily dry out.

Try seasoning the chops with salt and pepper and then, in a frying pan over high heat, searing them for a few minutes per side to brown the meat and seal in juices. Turn down the heat, cover the pan, and continue cooking. A chop that is less than 1 inch thick will be very nearly done after searing, while a 2-inch-thick, bone-in chop will require an additional 10 to 12 minutes of cooking time.

If you prefer, after searing, you can finish the meat, uncovered, in a 350-degree oven. Cooking time, again, depends on the thickness of the chop. In either case, you can test for doneness with an instant-read meat thermometer; the minimum internal temperature for pork is 145 degrees.

Most people overcook pork due to the fear of trichinosis, a disease caused by parasites present in wild game and, in increasingly rare cases, pork. In the United States, only a dozen or so cases of the disease are reported annually. If you prefer your pork medium or medium rare, freeze it at 5 degrees for at least 20 days to kill any parasites.

This week's answer is by Peter J. Kelly, a chef-instructor at Johnson & Wales University.