Serves 4
This dish is neither a stew nor a fricassee, but a flavorful sauce to which cooked chicken is added. There are three basic steps in the preparation: cooking the poultry, making the sauce, and combining both to meld the flavors. To complete the dish, serve boiled yellow potatoes and white fluffy rice on the same plate.
1 chicken breast
3 cups water
Salt and pepper
3 slices white bread
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons ají amarillo paste
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ cup pecans, finely chopped
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup evaporated milk or half and half
Salt and pepper
2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, and sliced
4 Alfonso olives
3 cups cooked white rice
2 hard-boiled eggs
4 parsley sprigs for decoration (optional)
1. Cook the chicken breast with water, salt, and pepper, in a heavy saucepan over medium heat (about 20 minutes). You can add a parsley sprig or a bay leaf if you want more flavor in your stock.
2. When the chicken is tender, take it out of the water and shred the meat with two forks or with your fingers. Strain the stock and reserve.
3. Put the bread in a bowl and add one cup of the reserved stock. When the bread has absorbed all the stock, process in a blender to form a loose paste. Reserve.
4. Heat the oil in the same saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for about 7 minutes. Stir frequently and don´t let them brown. When the onion is very soft and almost transparent, stir in the ají amarillo paste and dried oregano, and keep cooking for 5 more minutes.
5. Add the bread and one more cup of chicken stock to the pan, stirring for 3 more minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken.
6. Add the shredded chicken, pecans, and cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper because the cheese is already salty.
7. Finally, incorporate the evaporated milk or half and half, stir, and turn off the heat. If it looks too thick, thin it with more chicken stock. The sauce should be creamy, covering every chicken strand.
8. Put 2 slices of potato on each plate. Cover with the chicken mixture and serve with white rice on the side.
9. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters, Alfonso olives, and a parsley sprig.
Some cooks make this recipe using fish or shrimp instead of chicken. There are even versions with canned tuna! You can use ají de gallina to fill empanadas, ravioli, lasagna, tartlets, and more.