Peru | Aji De Gallina

Today in Peruvian cuisine combines modern fusion and Inca staples with the Spanish, African, Asian and French, Basque, Italian and British cuisine. While taking influence from four separate continents, the food from Peru is unlike any other in the world.

I sought to find the ingredients to make an authentic Peruvian meal and was fortunate to have a connection to the country through my dad. Maria Castillo-Quartara, a Cusco native, had a large quantity of aji pepper shipped from Cusco, Peru to Kansas City and not only wanted to share the pepper with me, but also her own Aji De Gallina recipe, a creamy chicken dish with aji pepper.

I loved this dish for it’s hearty, comforting characteristics while introducing unique flavors that I haven’t experienced before with the aji pepper paste. I definitely recommend eating with a bed of rice and the quartered eggs.

Ingredients Needed:

1 whole chicken breast (with bone)

6 spoonful’s of yellow chili pepper paste

1 yellow onion (big) diced finely

1 1/2 spoonful’s of minced garlic

½ cup of evaporated milk

4 pecan halves, minced

½ cup of table cream

½ baguette (bread that costs 1 dollar at Walmart)

Chicken stock (from where you cooked the chicken)

4 spoonfuls of parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

4 yellow potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut in 1 inch slices

Black olives

Boiled eggs, cut in quarters

Vegetable oil

Cooking Instructions:

Boil chicken breast in water. Once cooked, set the stock aside and let cool. Once cool enough, pull the chicken apart in regular sized chunks.

In a separate pot, brown the garlic and the onions with the some oil until both become clear. Then add the yellow chili pepper paste and brown again. Next, add salt and pepper. Finally, add the pulled chicken and mix it all together.

In a separate big bowl, place the bread cut in pieces along with the chicken stock, and let soak for a little while. Use enough stock so when you put both in the blender, it runs smoothly and creates a bread based paste. Once blended and ready, pour into pot where the chicken is and mix, then add pecans and turn the heat to the lowest to let it boil for about 3 minutes. Then add the parmesan cheese and let it cook for another 2 minutes. If the mix is too thick, add some more stock. 

Incorporate evaporated milk, and the table cream and mix well. Taste again for salt and pepper.

 To serve, make a bed of potato slices, add the aji de gallina, and decorate with a quarter boiled egg and a couple of black olives. You can also accompany this dish with garlic rice.

Recipe by: Maria Castillo-Quartara