Ají de Gallina
(ah-hee de gah-yee-nah)
Sopa a la Minuta & Los Salvavidas (Weeknight Lifesavers)
If there is one dish that defines the beating heart of a Peruvian home kitchen, it is Ají de Gallina. Evolving from a medieval Spanish dessert into a savory masterpiece, this is a golden, lava-like stew built on the unmistakable sunny heat of native ají amarillo peppers. While grandmothers traditionally spent hours boiling an old hen to coax out the right depth, practically every modern family relies on shredded chicken. By leaning on a good rotisserie bird and rich bone broth, you can capture the exact flavor of a Sunday afternoon in Lima on a rainy Tuesday in Ohio.
Ingredients
- white sandwich bread4 large slices
- evaporated milk1 cup
- chicken bone broth1 1/2 cup
- vegetable oil3 tbsp
- red onion1 large
- garlic4 med cloves
- ají amarillo paste1/2 cup
- ají panca paste1 tbsp
- ground turmeric1/2 tsp
- ground cumin1/4 tsp
- cooked chicken breast1 lb
- pecans1/2 cup
- Parmesan cheese1/3 cup
- kosher saltto taste
- black pepperto taste
- long-grain white rice2 cup
- Yukon Gold potatoes3 med
- hard-boiled eggs3 large
- black olives1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Blend the bread, evaporated milk, and half a cup of broth into a silky puree.
Let the torn bread sit in the liquid for a few minutes to soften before blitzing it until completely smooth, then set it aside.
- 02
Sweat the onions and garlic slowly over medium-low heat.
Take your time here, cooking the finely diced red onion in the vegetable oil until it is entirely translucent and melting before stirring in the garlic, cumin, and turmeric.
- 03
Caramelize the chili pastes until the oil separates.
This is the non-negotiable grandmotherly secret; add the ají amarillo and panca pastes, cooking until the mixture thickens and the oil physically pools at the edges to ensure the raw bite of the pepper is gone.
- 04
Incorporate the bread mixture and simmer until thickened.
Pour the blended bread into the pot and stir vigorously until the stew turns a vibrant golden yellow and bubbles thickly like lava, splashing in the remaining bone broth if it needs loosening.
- 05
Fold in the shredded chicken and finish off the heat.
Toss in the chicken just to warm it through, then remove the pot entirely from the heat before stirring in the pecans and Parmesan to ensure the dairy does not curdle.
- 06
Plate over boiled potatoes alongside white rice.
Serve the hot stew generously over thick slices of yellow potato, right next to a mound of rice, and garnish with wedges of hard-boiled egg and black olives.
Notes
Do not rush the flavor base.
The aderezo is the foundation of Peruvian cooking. Cooking the onions and chili paste low and slow until the oil separates is the difference between a pale imitation and tasting exactly like home.
Respect the ají amarillo.
You cannot substitute standard chili powder or hot sauce here. Jars of ají amarillo paste are widely available at local Latin markets and provide the essential color and fruity warmth this dish demands.
Utilize the saltine shortcut if needed.
If you find yourself without standard white sandwich bread, crushing a sleeve of saltine crackers into the milk is an authentic weeknight trick used in Lima to thicken the stew.
From Cook Peruvian in America.