"Target of One's Own" - Ají de Gallina Chicken Stew

Recipe (printable PDF)

The Night Stalkers #11
EXCERPT:
They’d started Stage Twelve with a huge sendoff from Arequipa. Peru’s second-largest city sat at seven thousand feet, dramatically close to the foot of the nearly twenty-thousand-foot active volcano El Misti. The historic eruptions of El Misti and the two other nearby monster volcanoes had also made it the most fertile region of Peru. If it ever had more than four inches of rain per year, it would be lush instead of merely green. But even that was a relief to the eyes after crossing the Andes and the high Atacama desert plains.
Here the men wore Arequipa traditional dress, brown Spanish bullfight attire with black sombreros. The women’s dresses landed mid-calf, but more than balanced out the view with far more vivid colors than the Argentine dancers wore—powerful reds and rainbow stripes.
And the food could kill a man with happiness. The bivouac mess had served truly impressive platters of lomo saltado. The grilled sirloin beef was stir-fried with onion, pepper, soy, and yellow Peruvian chilis. The spicy chicken stew, ají de gallina, was so good that he might have to learn how to cook so that he could eat it in the States.

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NOTE: For a quick fix, buy a grocery store roasted chicken. Discard the skin and shred all of the light and dark meat. It’s less of a stew and almost a thick gravy. You can vary the punch of heat by altering the amount of pepper. In a real pinch, you can substitute 2 Jalapeno peppers. If you do, add a dash of chili powder with the turmeric.
Active time: 45 minutes / Cook time: 15 minutes / Total time: 1 hour / Serves: 4
Ingredients for the Chicken

• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1/2 white onion, chopped coarse
• 2 tsp. dried parsley (2 Tbsp. fresh, chopped)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• olive oil to coat

Ingredients for the Stew

• 3-4 c. shredded, cooked chicken meat
• 2-3 slices bread, crusts removed
• 1/3 c. milk
• 3 Tbsp. walnuts
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. ají Amarillo chili paste (4 tsp. powder or 3-4 fresh chilis, seeded and chopped fine) (See note for substitutions.)
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 c. chicken stock

Serve with (traditionally all 3):

• 4 yellow potatoes, sliced thick and steamed or boiled until just tender
• 1 c. rice, typically white but also good with Mexican Red Rice (see Night Stalkers #10, Target of Mine for a recipe)
• Hard-boiled eggs, 1 per person

The Chicken

1. Rub the chicken with olive oil.
2. Sprinkle with salt and parsley.
3. Rest in a tray on top of the chopped onions and bake at 350°F until 165°F inside, about 25 minutes.
4. Let cool enough to handle and shred the chicken. Discard the onion.

The Stew

1. Soak the bread with the milk in a food processor or blender, without running.
2. Add the walnuts and Parmesan, blend until smooth.
3. Start the potatoes.
4. Heat the oil in a medium pan and sauté the onion until softened and turning clear around the edges.
5. Add the garlic, ají, and turmeric. Sauté until bloomed, about 30 seconds.
6. Add blended bread-walnut-cheese mixture, shredded chicken, and chicken stock. Moist but not sloppy.
7. Simmer covered on low for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, then serve.

Just a touch of butter and pepper on the potatoes and the two starches actually brought this dish together very nicely.

Recipe (printable PDF)