Destination
Arequipa
The story
Ají de gallina is Lima's most comforting home dish and one of the most emblematic recipes of criollo Peruvian cooking: shredded poached chicken served in a rich, silky yellow sauce built on ají amarillo (the specifically Peruvian yellow chili), pre-soaked white bread, evaporated milk, ground walnuts and Parmesan cheese, poured over boiled potato slices, garnished with a black olive, a hard-boiled egg quarter and a sprig of parsley. Served every Sunday in Lima households, on every menú corriente lunch counter for the S/. 12 special, and at every criollo restaurant that lists a comfort-food classic.
Method
Combine chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt and water in a pot. Bring to a simmer, cook 25 minutes until cooked through. Lift out and shred with two forks. Strain and reserve 500ml of the broth.
Tear the bread into rough chunks. Soak in 300ml of the reserved warm broth for 10 minutes until fully soft.
Warm the oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Cook onion 6 minutes until soft. Add garlic 60 seconds. Add ají amarillo paste, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes, stirring, until the oil starts to separate at the edges.
Tip the ají base into a blender. Add the soaked bread with its soaking broth, evaporated milk and ground walnuts. Blend on high 60 seconds until completely smooth. Pour back into the pan.
Warm the blended sauce over medium-low heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until it thickens to a heavy pouring consistency that coats the back of a spoon. Add more chicken broth 2 tbsp at a time if too thick.
Stir in the grated Parmesan and nutmeg. Fold in the shredded chicken. Cook 5 more minutes to warm the chicken through and let the flavours marry. Taste and adjust salt.
While the sauce comes together, boil the potatoes 15 minutes until tender. Peel and slice 5mm thick.
Lay 3 or 4 potato slices in the middle of each plate. Ladle a generous amount of ají de gallina over the potatoes. Top with a boiled egg half, 3 black olives and a scatter of parsley. Serve with steamed rice on the side.
Tips
- Ají amarillo is the flavour marker. Peruvian yellow chili paste is sold at any Latino grocer (Kris brand, Doña Isabel brand). Fresh ají amarillo works too — boil to soften then blend into the sauce. Substitutes (habanero, scotch bonnet) have the wrong flavour profile.
- Bread thickens the sauce. Do not skip. This is the classical Andalusi thickener and gives ají de gallina its characteristic velvety texture. Stale bread works best; fresh bread turns gluey.
- Evaporated milk, not fresh cream. Peruvian cooks use canned evaporated milk (Nestlé Ideal is the local brand). It gives a specific silky texture and mild sweetness. Fresh cream is too rich.
- Ground walnuts are essential. They thicken and add the nutty note that distinguishes ají de gallina from a plain chicken cream sauce. Substitute pine nuts or blanched almonds if walnuts are unavailable.
- Serve over potato, with rice. Both starches. Not one or the other. This is the classical Peruvian menú corriente plating: potato slices as the base, sauce on top, rice on the side.
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