Ají de Gallina

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Ají de Gallina (Spanish for chili pepper chicken) is a traditional Peruvian dish.

Ingredients

• 1300g (4 lb) chicken
• 120ml (1/2 cup) of olive oil
• 1 large finely chopped onion
• 8 cloves of minced garlic
• 3 hot yellow South American chilis (seeds removed): Adjust quantity for individual taste.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 chicken stock cube
• ¼ loaf of bread
• 110g (¼ lb) of chopped pecans
• 110g (4 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) boiled rice
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 6 potatoes
• 120g (1/2 cup) black olives

Method

1. Remove the parson's nose from the chicken.
2. Boil chicken in salted water together with the stock cube. Remove bones and break into bite size pieces, keeping the resulting chicken stock.
3. In a saucepan, heat oil and sauté the onion, garlic, and finely chopped chili peppers and add salt and pepper. Fry this until the onions are cooked and golden.
4. Soak the bread in two cups of the stock from the boiled chicken and place in a blender for a couple of minutes and then add the resulting liquid to the saucepan.
5. Cook slowly for ten minutes. Cook slowly, stirring to thicken.
6. Add the chopped pecans, grated cheese, and chicken pieces. Cook until it has a thick creamy texture. About five minutes before serving, add the evaporated milk and continue cooking on low heat.

Serving suggestions

Serve over the boiled rice and garnish with halved potatoes, eggs quartered lengthwise, and olives.

Chef's notes

One fo our Peruvian visitors, Teresa Sánchez notes: "I am Peruvian and I really love cooking. This is one of my favorite dishes and I would like to share with you something that has worked really well. We have a kind of chili that is dried and is called ají mirasol. I mix this kind of chili with the one you have used and it has a delicious flavor.".

I have done a little searching for this chilli and unfortunately can only find suppliers in North and South America, though I will keep looking and I'm sure I will be told if someone finds a UK supplier.

See also

• Get chicken pieces the economical way, joint the chicken yourself