The most sought-after recipe for ají de gallina: learn how to prepare it Teresa Izquierdo’s style

I find it useful—and fun—to keep a mental list of your personal favorites. But ah, contradictions of life: even in food it is difficult to know for sure what one really wants. It is difficult -if not impossible- to choose a single option when faced with the recurring question about one’s tastes (by that I mean the dreaded “and, what is your favorite dish?”; a question that indicates, by its very nature, that there should be only one possible answer) I think that the most peaceful solution is to classify my dishes and eat calmly. 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 answers enthusiastically, because the exclamation marks are not enough to indicate it*). And now that winter arrives, the craving for it also arrives. I can’t find a better teacher to guide me on the tasty path towards her brilliant power than Elena Santos Izquierdo, heiress 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 all lovers of the culinary arts and also for the apprentices who dream of them. A place where one feels inexplicably comfortable, warm. At home.

Ají de gallina, ironically, was the first dish that Elena prepared herself. It was a surprise for her mom, who had a request to cook. Elena wanted to help her by going ahead, but she was wrong about one detail. “I should have put the pecans at the end”. You now master the recipe to perfection. The girl who grew up between stoves, watching her grandmother and her mother work day and night with mastery 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 all houses- that had fried and chopped skin, to a shrimp chili made in the same vein (and that would be well worth showing around here), there is history and a lot. Seasoning too.

Let’s do it.

Chicken chili recipe

(For 4 people)

You need:

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups of yellow chili paste.
• 1 bone-in chicken breast.
• 6-8 slices of white bread (estimated about 2 per person).
• Half chopped red onion.
• Vegetable oil.
• Evaporated milk: approximately 1 cup to soak the bread; 1 and a half cups for preparation.
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.
• Ají panca in paste.
• Pepper and cumin.
• Yellow potato (needed 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 longest. 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 stalks and a quarter of red onion. Make sure you have made some cuts in the brisket beforehand so that it cooks better. This broth will serve you 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 (a lie, I’ll always judge you; just kidding…just kidding) or you can prepare it, which isn’t difficult either. In any case, here is Elena’s recipe.

STEPS FOR THE YELLOW PEPPER:

Devein the yellow chili pepper – if you want your ají de gallina to be spicy, omit this part – bring it to a boil, throw away the water, bring it to a boil again, throw away the water again, let cool, remove the skin and blend with oil. Ready.

Continue with the bread. Remove rinds and cut it into large pieces.

Soak them in a cup of “terciada” 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 on this step: if it is blended, the texture we are looking for in the bread is spoiled. “It has to be ‘trotoncito’ (another term very much hers), with little lumps”, she advises.

The chicken is ready, take out medium pieces by hand and reserve them. This recipe does not require fraying, but it is a matter of taste. Do the same with the potatoes and eggs: keep them peeled and reserved.

Now touch the dressing. On a 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 for taste. Stir until it starts to boil.

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

When I mean 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 done circularly, but also diagonally (from one side of the pot to the other) with force, like pulling the preparation. You must ensure that the base does not burn.

This can take about 15 minutes to get ready. The mixture will begin to move as 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 onto the surface of the mixture, shiny and pretty.

At this time, a cup and a half of evaporated milk enters. Move everything very well until it is fully incorporated. Chicken pieces follow. Stir 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.

Garnish 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 bit of 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: it invites, then.

P.S:

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