Ají de Gallina
Creamy and spicy shredded chicken served over rice

This is a totally unique and quintessentially Peruvian dish. I prepared it for the first time on the insistence of our friend and guitar teacher, Carlos, who felt that my cooking lessons with Chef Percy were teaching me too many fancy restaurant-style dishes that weren’t “real” Peruvian food. Carlos enlisted his mother and brought her over to our place to teach me some basic home-style cooking, which would culminate with Ají de Gallina. When she unloaded her grocery bags and put on her apron, I knew that whatever we ended up with that day, it would at least be authentic.

Ají de Gallina is serious comfort food. I imagine that every Peruvian mother or grandmother has her own version of this recipe, and when she serves it up everything is good in the world. It starts simply with shredded chicken in a creamy sauce, but with the addition of chili pepper puree, chopped nuts and parmesan cheese it transcends the ordinary. For Peruvians, Ají de Gallina conjures up memories of mama’s kitchen, and so it is a dish dear to the country’s heart. The dish has become nostalgic for me as well, as it reminds me of the kindness of my Peruvian friends who cared enough to teach me “real” Peruvian cooking.

Ají de Gallina is homey comfort food with a more than a touch of the exotic: I encourage you to start a new tradition and make it for your homies.

Ingredients:

· 1 whole chicken

· 10 cloves garlic

· ½ - 1 habanero pepper (optional – very spicy)

· 3 T ají amarillo paste*

· 4 T olive oil

· 24 saltine crackers

· 12 oz. evaporated milk

· 1 medium onion, diced

· 1 t cumin

· ½ t turmeric

· 1 c walnuts, finely chopped

· ¼ c grated parmesan cheese

· Salt

· 4 c. cooked white rice

· 1 hard-boiled egg, sliced

· ¼ c black olives

Directions:

1. Section chicken and remove skin. Place in a stock pot and cover with about 3-4 quarts of water.

2. Bring almost to a boil and then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Skim off foam and cover. Cook for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and very tender.

3. Remove chicken and place on a baking sheet to cool. Remove the bones and shred the meat. Reserve the meat.

4. Strain chicken stock and reserve (you will use 1-2 c chicken stock for this recipe).

5. In a blender put 4 garlic cloves, habanero pepper (seeds and stem removed), and ají amarillo paste, 2 T water, and 2 T olive oil. Puree until smooth. Set this garlic/chili pepper puree aside.

6. Place saltine crackers, evaporated milk, 6 cloves of garlic, 1 t. salt, and 1 c. stock in blender. Puree until smooth.

7. In a stockpot, sauté onion in 2 T olive oil until soft.

8. Add cumin and turmeric. Coat onions and sauté until the spices are fragrant.

9. Add the cracker mixture and stir frequently over medium heat until thickened. Add more stock if necessary. It should be the consistency of thick gravy.

10. Add garlic/chili pepper puree until desired spiciness is reached.

11. Add shredded chicken and cook until heated. Stir in walnuts. Add more garlic/chili pepper puree and chicken stock as necessary to taste.

12. Remove from heat and mix in ¼ c. grated parmesan cheese. Add salt if necessary to taste.

13. Serve over cooked white rice. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg and black olives (I prefer kalamata).

* Ají amarillo is a Peruvian spicy chili pepper paste that is essential for this dish. It is found in many international and Latin American grocery stores.