Aji de gallina โ this is a creamy Peruvian chicken stew or fricassee served with boiled eggs, olives, potatoes, and rice.
Many Latin American recipes here this week. After the Mexican chorizo tostadas, the Argentinian beef empanadas, and the Choripan con chimichurri, now is time for a Peruvian food recipe, the famous Aji de Gallina.
And it is not over yet when it comes to Latin American recipes; I still have the Costa Rican black beans and rice, a Brazilian fish soup, and a Tomato and Avocado Salad from Panama.
Ingredients
Stock: You can use bought or homemade stock and skip making the stock yourself. In this case, cook the meat in the available stock as indicated in the recipe. You will need roughly 1 liter/ 4 cups stock.
- There will be some leftover stock, don't waste it. Pour it into a jar or bottle and keep it in the fridge for several days. Or freeze it for up to 3 months. You can use the leftover stock for adding to a soup, for making stews or sauces.
- When the meat is cool enough to handle, tear it into small pieces and set aside.
Peppers: Use bell peppers and chili instead of aji amarillos. My chili was very hot, so I used only one. Adjust the heat by adding more chilies or keeping the seeds for extra spice.
Olives: I use black, wrinkly olives with pits. If you use whole olives with pits, warn others at the table, as they may not expect them.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to cook aji de gallina?
Make the stock:
Roughly chop the vegetables. Place them in a pot with 2 garlic cloves, meat, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until the breasts are cooked through. Donโt overcook, or they'll become tough.
Remove the breasts and set them aside. Continue simmering the stock uncovered while preparing the rest of the recipe. Add a chicken stock cube if the stock lacks flavor.
Make the sauce:
Peppers: Cook the quartered yellow peppers until soft. Drain well. Return to the pot, add some stock and the remaining 2 garlic cloves. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
Sauce: Place the torn white bread slices and the walnuts in a bowl. Add some of the chicken stock and puree to obtain a thick paste. Set aside.
Saute: Cook the onions, then add chili, pepper sauce, and ยผ cup of the chicken broth. Simmer for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the bread mixture and simmer for 5 minutes. If the sauce is not smooth enough at this point, you can blend it again.
Add chicken: Shred the chicken and add it to the pot together with the olives and the milk. Turn the heat a bit up and continue cooking for several minutes or until the sauce is thickened to your liking. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Be generous.
How to serve?
Typically, you would serve this Peruvian chicken stew with hard-boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, and rice.
A feast for my husband. Chicken or turkey fricassee and eggs in mustard sauce are two of his favorite dishes, and this aji de gallina is almost a South American version of a chicken fricassee with eggs in it. He could not stop eating it!
Start cooking the eggs, potatoes, and rice while the rest of the dish is cooking so that everything is ready in time. If you don't have enough space on your hob with all the different pots and pans, you could cook the potatoes and the eggs together.
Store and reheat
The Peruvian chicken stew can be easily reheated. If I have leftover rice and potatoes (sliced) as well, I add them to the sauce and reheat everything together. You might want to add a small amount of chicken stock or water when you reheat the sauce together with the rice and/or potatoes.
More international chicken stews
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Aji de Gallina - Peruvian Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 carrots about 150 g/ 5.5 oz
- 1 leek about 130 g/ 4.5 oz
- 4 celery sticks or 1 pieces celeriac about 100 g/ 3.5 oz
- 4 garlic cloves divided
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts 500 g, 2-3 pieces depending on size
- 6ยฝ cups water 1.5 liter
- 4 large yellow bell peppers about 900 g/ 2 lbs
- 2 oz white bread 50 g, about 2 slices
- ยฝ cup chopped walnuts 50 g
- 1 onion about 135 g/ 5 oz
- 1 red chili more as desired for a hotter dish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 20 black olives
- ยพ cups whole milk 200 ml
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 1 cup rice 200 g
- 4 potatoes size as desired
Instructions
Stock:
- Prepare vegetables: Roughly chop the carrots, leeks, celery, or celeriac. Place them into a pot together with 2 of the garlic cloves and the whole chicken breasts.
- Cook chicken: Cover with the water, bring to a boil, turn the heat down, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and set them aside.
- Continue cooking the stock (uncovered) while you prepare the rest. You will need some of the stock for the recipe. (Notes 1 and 2)
Sauce:
- Peppers: Remove the seeds from the yellow peppers and quarter them. Place them into another pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, turn the heat down, and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes or until soft. Drain well.
- Blend peppers: Return the peppers to the pot, add about ยผ cup/ 60 ml from the cooking chicken stock and the remaining 2 garlic cloves. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Blend sauce ingredients: Place the torn white bread slices and the walnuts in a bowl. Add ยผ cup/ 60 ml of the cooking chicken broth. Blend the toast and the walnuts to obtain a thick paste. Set aside.
Stew:
- Saute: Chop the onion and the chili finely. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or another heavy-bottomed pot and cook the onion until translucent. Add chili, pepper sauce, and ยผ cup of the chicken broth. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Add the bread - walnut mixture. Stir well and simmer for 5 minutes more. If the sauce is not smooth enough at this point you can blend it again.
- Add chicken: In the meantime, shred the cooked chicken breasts. Add the chicken to the pot together with the olives. Add the milk, turn the heat a bit up, and continue cooking for several minutes or until the sauce is thickened to your liking.
- Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Be generous.
Serve:
- Serve with hard-boiled eggs, cooked rice, and boiled potatoes.
- Aji de gallina can be easily reheated. If you have leftover rice and potatoes (sliced) as well, add them to the sauce and reheat everything together. You might want to add a small amount of chicken stock or water when you reheat the sauce together with the rice and/or potatoes.
Notes
- Stock: If the stock is not flavorful enough, add a chicken stock cube, it will increase the flavor.
- Strain the remaining chicken stock and use it for soups, stews, or sauces. The chicken stock will keep in the fridge for several days or it can be frozen for later use.
mjskitchen says
This looks really, really good! I love aji peppers. Sissi at Withaglass turned me onto them. I've only used them once and loved the flavor. I can imagine how wonderful the flavor goes with chicken and your other ingredients. Pinned!
Sissi says
Sounds delicious! I have recently started to cook with Mexican dried chillies and found all I needed on UK Amazon (I also buy there powdered chilli for Indian cuisine, dried Thai chillies... I can get all the ingredients in many "exotic" food shops, but they are much more expensive or/and the quality is lower).
angiesrecipes says
It looks filling and delicious! I adore that sauce.