Ingredients
Units
Scale
- For the stock:
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 chicken leg, cut in 1/2 (optional TFD addition to make a richer stock)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
- 1/2 onion, peel still on (it adds color to the stock)
- A few sprigs of fresh parsley
- freshly-ground black pepper, freshly-ground cumin, pinch of turmeric, all to taste
- ***
- 1 white onion finely-chopped
- 3 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 ají amarillo chili peppers (2 Tbsp. or to taste of ají amarillo paste can be substituted if the fresh peppers are unavailable)
- 4 crusty dinner rolls or 1 kaiser sandwich roll
- 4 cloves peeled garlic, halved lengthwise
- 1 tsp. red yuzu kosho (highly-optional TFD addition to celebrate Peru's Japanese heritage - omit for traditional recipe!)
- 1 1/2 oz. pecans (walnuts are also an option, but pecans are the traditional choice)
- dash evaporated milk
- 1 tsp. minced fresh oregano leaves (TFD change, original was 1/2 tsp. dried oregano)
- 2 eggs
- 4 floury potatoes such as Russets
- 2 cups rice (optional but recommended)
- 4 leaves lettuce
- Pitted, sliced kalamata olives
- 1 tsp. vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
- parsley sprig for garnish
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes, unpeeled and with 3 Tbsp. Kosher salt and leave to cool. Reserve.
- Cook the rice and mix in a little butter. Reserve.
- Hard boil the eggs to perfection: hard boil two pasture-raised eggs by boiling them for 5 ¼ minutes (put them in a pan with cold water covering the eggs with one inch of salted water and counting from the moment the water starts boiling). Peel and reserve in the fridge.
- For the stock and cooking the chicken breast:
- Fill a medium pot with sufficient water to cover the chicken breast and leg, add vegetables, herbs and spices and bring to the boil. Cook the chicken for about 25 minutes over medium heat.
- Remove from the pot and once it’s cool enough, shred the breast meat, discarding skin and bones. Discard vegetables, seasonings and chicken leg (or save them for your dog or cat’s next meal, minus the bay leaf and chicken leg bone – give them the leg meat, of course!). Set breast meat aside.
- Use the broth to soak the bread rolls until they’ve absorbed it and become soft. Blend in a food processor to create a bread purée. Reserve.
- For the stew:
- Cut the ají amarillo chili peppers in half and remove the veins (ribs) and seeds. Holding them with a tong, grill the peppers directly on a high heat flame until the skin is cooked and black in parts. Rinse the peppers and remove the skin, then chop roughly. If using ají amarillo paste, this step can be skipped.
- In a frying pan, add some vegetable oil and lightly fry the ají peppers (or the paste, if using), red yuzu kosho (if using) chopped white onion, garlic, oregano and pecans. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend.
- Pour the contents of the blender into a frying pan and add the shredded breast. Stir well and cook until it achieves the right thickened consistency. Add the grated parmesan cheese and the evaporated milk just before turning off the heat.
- Place a lettuce leaf on the plate, followed by 4 generous slices of potato per serving and a portion of rice. Serve over the white rice and potatoes. Serve with one or two slices of hard-boiled egg and black olives, garnished by a parsley sprig.