CHEF PRIMERA
BarENES

Ají de Gallina

Meat & Seafood · Latin American & Caribbean

12 ingredients · 65 minutes · 4 servings

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594kcal49.6g protein33.4g fat23.3g carbs*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.

Contains gluten, dairy, tree nut · only in an optional ingredient: egg

Restrictions

Containsgluten · dairy · tree nutIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.

Only if you add itegg (eggs)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.

Diets
No porkNo alcohol

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:
2 lbchicken
6 cupwater
4 slicebread (day-old, torn)
1 cupmilk
2 tbspvegetable oil
1 unitonion (finely diced)
3 clovegarlic (minced)
5 tbspají amarillo paste
¼ cupwalnuts (finely ground)
¼ cupParmesan (finely grated)
1 tspsalt
½ tspblack pepper

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

2 unitpotatoes (boiled, sliced)
2 uniteggs (hard-boiled, halved)
8 unitblack olives

Steps

  1. simmer22 min
    bare simmer
    Cover the chicken with the water and simmer gently until just cooked through. A hard boil tightens the meat and clouds the broth; the reserved broth is part of the sauce, so keep both clean and mild.
  2. prep6 min
    cool enough to handle
    Remove the chicken, reserve the broth, and shred the meat into bite-size strands. Soak the torn bread in the milk while the chicken cools so the crumb hydrates evenly instead of forming dry lumps in the sauce.
  3. mix9 min
    medium-low heat
    Heat the oil and cook onion until soft, then add garlic and ají amarillo. Continue until the raw onion smell is gone and the chile paste smells sweet and rounded; undercooked ají leaves the finished sauce harsh.
  4. mix4 min
    blended smooth
    Blend the soaked bread and milk until smooth, then stir it into the ají base. The bread should thicken the sauce invisibly; visible crumb means it was not hydrated or blended enough.
  5. simmer8 min
    low heat, adding broth gradually
    Add about 1 cup reserved chicken broth a little at a time until the sauce is creamy and spoonable, then stir in walnuts and Parmesan. Stop adding broth before the sauce looks thin because the chicken will loosen it further.
  6. mix4 min
    low heat
    Fold in the shredded chicken, salt, and pepper and warm through. The finished sauce should coat the chicken in a thick ribbon rather than sit as paste or pool like soup.
  7. top2 min
    serve hot
    Spoon over boiled potato if using and finish with hard-boiled egg and black olives. Keep the garnishes distinct so the diner gets the classic creamy, salty, and starchy contrasts in each plate.