Chicken Sauce Piquant is slow braise of chicken in an intensely flavorful, bright and spicy Creole tomato sauce. Serve it hot in a bowl over cooked white rice. It is a great example of classic Creole cuisine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Bon Appetite!
Creole Chicken Sauce Piquant Recipe
Creole Chicken Sauce Piquant
Equipment
- heavy Dutch oven
- cutting board
- kitchen knife
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs
- ¼ cup oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 ½ cup onions – finely chopped
- 1 cup celery – finely chopped
- 1 cup bell pepper – finely chopped
- 6 ounce tomato paste
- 1 cup tomatoes
- 4 cup chicken stock
- 4 clove garlic – finely chopped
- 1 lemon – juiced
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh basil – finely chopped
- ½ tsp thyme – finely chopped
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp parsley – finely chopped
- 1 cup shallots – finely chopped
Instructions
- In a heavy Dutch oven, brown the chicken in the oil and set aside.8 chicken thighs, 1/4 cup oil
- Pour off about 2 Tablespoons of oil, then add the butter. Add the flour and make a light roux.2 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp flour
- Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper and cook until translucent.1 1/2 cup onions, 1 cup celery, 1 cup bell pepper
- Add the tomato paste and tomatoes, and cook for about five minutes.6 ounce tomato paste, 1 cup tomatoes
- Mix in the chicken stock, then add the garlic, lemon juice, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, basil, thyme, chili powder and bay leaves. Simmer for 1/2 hour, then add the chicken, and cook until tender.4 cup chicken stock, 4 clove garlic, 1 lemon, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp fresh basil, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp chili powder, 4 bay leaves
- Add the parsley and shallots. Remove from the heat, and let rest for 1/2 hour. Serve over white rice.1 tbsp parsley, 1 cup shallots
PRIVATE NOTES
Nutrition
More Information
There’s nothing like a warm, freshly baked French baguette to enhance your meal. Serve it slathered with Herbed Butter for extra yummy goodness.
Classic Creole Cuisine
Chicken Sauce Piquant is a classic Creole dish that has been passed down through generations over hundreds of years.
The recipe is mentioned in the Picayune Creole Cook Book, published in the early 1900’s. The cookbook is a compilation of classic Creole recipes developed between the late 18th and early 20th centuries. It is in the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
A Historical Cookbook
I have loved reading this cook book. Many of the recipes it contains call for cooking methods that are obsolete in today’s modern kitchens. However, the basic methods and ingredients of the recipes it contains continue to hold true, and are adaptable even to this day.
I have adapted several classic Creole recipes to my own taste and modern cooking methods. On the other hand, I do try to ensure my recipes remain grounded in tradition. I believe it is important to carry forward culinary traditions so that they are not forever lost to time.
A True Taste of New Orleans
Chicken sauce piquant is a distinctive flavor of New Orleans. As such, you can taste the cultural influences that comprise Creole cuisine. Influences of American Indian, African, Spanish, French, and Caribbean cultures come through in the flavors of this classic Creole dish.
Cajun vs Creole
Cajun Chicken Gumbo and Creole Chicken Sauce Piquant both are types of chicken soup. Comparing their flavors illustrates some of the differences between these two distinctly different cuisines.
Chicken Gumbo
Chicken Gumbo is made with a dark roux base, and does not contain tomatoes. It is hearty, and spicy, but its flavors are subtle and earthy, and not peppery.
Sauce Piquant
On the other hand, Sauce Piquant is made with a light roux, and does contain tomatoes. It is spicy, peppery, herby, and somewhat acidic.
This is a perfect analogy of these two cultures. You can almost think of it as country (Cajun) versus city (Creole).
Acadians
Le Grand Dérangement
Cajuns, also known as Acadians, are the descendants of exiles who migrated from Nova Scotia to Louisiana during a period known as Le Grand Dérangement. In 1710, the British captured Port Royal, the capital of Acadia. Acadians refused to sign an oath of allegiance to Britain. As a result, the British expelled them from their homeland.
The displaced Acadians migrated south, escaping to Louisiana, which was as far away from the British as possible. Louisiana had a landscape that was similar to the Acadian settlement in Nova Scotia, so they could adapt their existing skills to farming in their new home. Cajun cuisine is derived from the traditions, farming methods, and recipes that Acadian’s brought with them from their homeland.
I have a friend who lives in Nova Scotia. He sent me a picture of a plaque installed there which describes The Expulsion Of The Acadians (1755-1762).
Cajun Farmers
Another plaque describes the Acadian landscape. This plaque depicts a coastal zone with extremely high tides. The early Cajuns built systems of dykes and drainage networks enabling them to successfully farm this land.
Another plaque describes The Landscape of Grand Pre and its inscription in the World Heritage List on June 30, 2012.
In South Louisiana, my great grandfather Henri Gaspard employed a similar system of levies and ponds to capture and control rain and flood waters in his riced fields. By controlling the water in the fields, he was able to develop an innovate system of farming, alternating between cultivating rice and crawfish.
Cajun Cuisine
Cajun cuisine is essentially French country, adapted to locally available resources.
Creole People
In stark contrast to Cajun culture, Creole culture developed from people born in Louisiana during the colonial period. Creole people mostly practiced Roman Catholicism, and they spoke French, Spanish, and African. They were descendants of Europeans colonists, freed and enslaved Africans, people of mixed heritage, and migrants who came from Caribbean countries that settled into and around New Orleans.
Creoles brought with them the vastly varied influences of their homelands, creating a spicy melting pot of cultures that is very much like this recipe for Creole Chicken Sauce Piquant.
Related Recipes
Roux
Creole Jambalaya
Cajun Seafood Gumbo
Braised Beef Short Ribs
Braised Country Pork Ribs
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