Ají de gallina: learn the secret recipe of the legendary Teresa Izquierdo

I find it useful – and fun – to keep a mental list of your personal favorites. But oh, contradictions of life: even in food it is difficult to know for sure what one really wants. Being complicated -if not impossible- to choose a single option in the face of the recurring question about one’s tastes (by which I mean the dreaded “and, what is your favorite dish?”; a question that indicates, in its very nature, that there should be only one possible answer) I think the most peaceful solution is to classify my dishes and eat quietly. And eat a lot, of course.

Today, with absolute certainty and after many field tests, I can affirm that my favorite Creole dish (of all time, of all history) is ají de gallina! (*she replies enthusiastically, because the exclamation marks aren’t enough to indicate it*). And now that winter is here, so is her craving. I cannot find a better teacher to guide me on the tasty path towards her brilliant power than Elena Santos Izquierdo, heir to the secrets of the most important cult chef in Peruvian gastronomy: her mother, the great Teresa Izquierdo. This is her recipe. And it is a privilege to have learned it.

I confess that visiting your home filled me with emotion. Teresa is breathed in every corner. That’s how Elena likes it. Yours is more than a kitchen. Hundreds of utensils, souvenirs, details, pots (many, many pots) make up the picture. The paradise for every lover of the culinary arts and also that of the apprentices who dream of them. A place where one feels inexplicably comfortable, warm. At home.

The ají de gallina, ironically, was the first dish that Elena prepared for herself. It was a surprise for her mom, who had an order to cook. Elena wanted to help her by going ahead, but she got one detail wrong. “I should have put the pecans last”. Now you master the recipe perfectly. The girl who grew up in the kitchen, watching her grandmother and her mother work day and night with skill and determination, today she continues a culinary legacy where past and present merge in her pot. And the ají de gallina is no exception. From the recipe that his grandmother prepared with chicken – chicken has replaced it in almost every house – which had fried and chopped skin, to a shrimp chili made in the same vein (and which would be well worth showing here), there is a lot of history. Sazon too.

Let’s do it.

Chili chicken recipe

(For 4 people)

You need:

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups of yellow chili paste.
• 1 chicken breast with bone.
• 6-8 slices of white sliced ​​bread (estimated about 2 per person).
• Half red onion chopped.
• Vegetable oil.
• Evaporated milk: about 1 cup to soak the bread; 1 cup and a half for the preparation.
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.
• Panca chili paste.
• Pepper and cumin.
• Yellow potato (necessary amount).
• 2 eggs.
• Black olives, grated Parmesan cheese (large pieces, according to the recipe) and pecans to decorate.
• And, if you want, white rice to accompany.

PREPARATION

Start with what will take you the most time. Boil the potatoes, chop the onion, do the same with the pecans and cook the chicken.

One trick: boil the whole breast – always with the bone, because boneless is not funny, says Elena – in a pot with two halved celery sticks and a quarter of red onion. Make sure you have made some cuts to the breast beforehand so that it cooks better. That broth will serve you for later, in case the preparation thickens. Don’t forget the eggs.

Let’s be honest. You can buy the chili paste already made and nobody judges you (lie, I will always judge you; just kidding… just kidding) or you can prepare it, which is not difficult either. In any case, here is Elena’s recipe.

STEPS FOR THE YELLOW PEPPER:

Devein the yellow pepper –if you want your chicken pepper to be spicy, skip this part– bring it to a boil, pour out the water, bring it back to a boil, pour out the water again, let cool, remove the skin and blend with oil. Clever.

Continue with the bread. Remove rinds and cut into large chunks.

Soak them in a cup of “tertiada” milk: that is, milk with a little water. Once it is somewhat soft, pass the mixture through a sieve. There are people who prefer to blend it, but Elena is firm in this step: if it is blended, it spoils the texture we are looking for in the bread. “It has to be ‘trotoncito’ (another term very his), with lumps”, she advises.

When the chicken is ready, remove medium pieces with your hand and reserve them. This recipe does not require fraying, but it is a matter of taste. Do the same with potatoes and eggs: have them peeled and reserved.

Now it’s time for the dressing. Over regular heat, make a sauce with the oil, garlic, onion, pepper and a little cumin.

When the onion begins to cook, add the yellow chili paste. A spoonful of ají panca paste follows, just to taste. Stir until it starts to boil.

Now comes the most careful part. Add the milk and sifted bread mixture (and salt to taste). Lower to medium heat.

When I say that it is the most careful part, I say it for two reasons. First, because you can’t stop moving; believe it or not, that bread is more delicate than it seems. Second, because the movements must not only be made circularly, but also diagonally (from one side of the pot to the other) with force, as if pulling the preparation. You must watch that the base does not burn.

This may take about 15 minutes to be ready. The mixture will start to move like a compact mass, which means that you can see the bottom of the pot. But more important than that, you’ll know it’s almost done when you notice the fat start to ooze out on the surface of the mixture, shiny and pretty.

At this time enter a cup and a half of evaporated milk. Move everything very well until it is fully incorporated. Chicken pieces follow. Move again and add a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and the pecans. Don’t forget to check the salt. Remove the pot from the heat.

To serve, you know what’s coming. Cut the yellow potato into large chunks and place a few pieces on each plate. Cover them with the ají de gallina, generously.

Decorate with hard-boiled egg (half of one, never 1/4), more nuts and cheese.

Do you remember that broth you saved? Use it – you can also use a little milk, or both – when the ají de gallina gets a little thick. It usually happens after a while of preparing it. Another secret of Teresa and Elena. I declare myself a fan for life.

Enjoy, eat. And the most important thing when it comes to Creole cuisine: invite, then.

P.S:

You will notice that we do not use rice in the dish. It’s because our chili looked so delicious that we decided to eat it alone.