Good for the Soul Soul Food

It’s not often I read a food magazine cover to cover. Invariably, there are stories or recipes that just don’t speak to me.

But that wasn’t true for the May issue of Saveur.

This may be one of the best issues of Saveur I have ever received. Granted, the tantalizing tacos gracing the cover along with the tempting feature story of “Secrets of Mexican Cooking” definitely grabbed my attention.

But the pictures, the stories, the writing…everything is spot-on. And the only change the magazine made recently is bringing on James Oseland as the Editor-in-Chief. So, congrats to James and his creative team. They definitely deserves kudos for this issue!

While I wanted to dive into nearly every recipe in the Mexican story—Guiso de Flor de Calabaza, Papas en Chile Rojo, Elote—there are so many dog-eared pages in this issue, I didn’t know where to start!

Though David had no problem getting off first base. He made the baked chicken with peppers last night and said it was “bitchin’ chicken.” Considering that the recipe comes from Bertha's Kitchen in Charleston, South Carolina, this is definitely food for the soul.

That’s enough of an accolade for me to share it with you. 

Buen provecho!

Baked Chicken with Peppers

The Cowgirl Gourmet adapted this recipe from the May issue of Saveur

Print recipe

This chicken dish was simple and took little effort to make. Hailing straight from Bertha's Kitchen in Charleston, South Carolina, this is definitely food for the soul.


Serves 4-6


8 chicken legs or 1 whole chicken, cut into 4 or 8 pieces
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and paprika, to taste
1/4 cup combo of olive oil and grapeseed oil, or canola oil
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1/4" strips
1/2 large yellow onion, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4" slices
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock, or more if needed


Heat oven to 400 degrees. 


Season chicken liberally with salt, pepper and paprika. Heat oil in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken, skin side down and cook until skin is golden brown, about 6 minutes per side.

Transfer chicken to a large roasting pan, skin side up, and set aside. 

Return pan to heat and add garlic, peppers, and onions; cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cook for 1 minute, and then add chicken stock; scrape browned bits off bottom of pan and mix. 

Pour vegetables and stock around chicken, and bake until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 1 hour. While cooking, baste it every 15 minutes with the liquid in the pan.


You can serve the chicken over rice and spoon lots of sauce over it.