Regarding Peruvian cuisine: We say “Peru” and (most of) you will respond, “ceviche.” This would not be incorrect. Peru’s ceviche is beloved. We wanted to explore a different, more everyday dish, for this edition of Proven Platter. Allow us to introduce Aji de Gallina – a delicious chicken stew featuring the signature flavor and yellow color of Aji Amarillo chili paste.

The recipes for one of Peru’s mainstays are as varied as American versions of coleslaw, and just like coleslaw there are a few key ingredients that every Aji must contain. Each variation includes chicken, Aji Amarillo chili paste, a bread of sorts, (i.e. toast, bread, saltine crackers), onion, garlic, chicken stock, milk (regular or evaporated), and walnut or pecans.

Variations of the recipes included carrots and celery added when cooking the onions. We saw one dish that featured peanuts instead of the traditional nuts of choice; and we even found one that added parmesan cheese. Some of the recipes added turmeric.

No matter which recipe you prepare, be sure to serve quartered hard-boiled eggs and black olives with the dish. (Peruvian olives are the most authentic, but a good Kalamata olive will work, too.) That was consistent across the board.

To keep this dish quick and simple, we used rotisserie chicken. Also, to add some additional texture and flavor we decided to quick fry the chicken skin and serve as a topping. The dish was delicious. You can serve with rice or potatoes. We opted for homemade purple Peruvian fried potato cakes, plus a handful of salty, crunchy Peruvian corn nuts. Yum! Good enough for every day, but also good enough for company! We hope you think so, too.

Aji de Gallina

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 whole white onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
10 saltine crackers, coarsely crumbled
1 cup chicken broth
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
½ cup pecan halves, toasted
3 tablespoons aji Amarillo paste*
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (remove skin and save to quickly pan fry for garnish)
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Hard-boiled eggs and black olives, for serving

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook until soft and slightly golden. Cool slightly. Place in a blender along with crackers, broth, toasted pecans, and aji paste. Blend until smooth.

Place back in skillet and heat until it thickens. Add the chicken and salt.

Serve with eggs and olives. We also served with additional crushed pecans for texture on top, along with the crisped chicken skin.

*The aji paste has a bit of heat when you taste it straight from the jar. It’s pleasant, fruity, and piquant. At first, we couldn’t imagine using the entire 3 tablespoons the recipe called for, so we added it bit by bit. Ultimately, we found it does need the full amount, and maybe more. Be sure to taste as you go. We thought it was fun to taste the flavor come through more and more with every additional bit we added.

Our recipe was inspired from Latinisimo by Sandra A. Gutierrez.

Recipe and photo credit: Kristina Skepton and Terri Tucker