Aji de gallina

This recipe was taught me by Antonieta Torrejón, so I dedicate this blog to her with much love. 

serves 2

Ingredients:

- 1 chicken breast or another piece of similar size
- some stalks of celery
- 3 carrotts
- half a cup of peas
- half a cup of long grain rice
- 2 eggs, preferably free range
- half a stock cube, chicken or vegetable
- a dash of  oregano
- half a cup of full fat milk
- white bread from the day before, 2-3 pieces depending on their size, like 1 and a half chapatta
- pecans, or walnuts
- 4 yellow peruvian ají
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- small pinch or cumin
- a quarter of a cup parmesan cheese


Boil the chicken in water, just covering it. With 2 of the chopped carrots and the celery. Also add the stock cube. Boil until the chicken is done. Then take the chicken out and put it on a plate. Turn off the hob.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic. The ajis, remove some of its seeds and veins, depending on how hot you like it , leave more or less of it . Chop it too.

Fry these things and add the cumin and a little salt. not too much salt, as it is better to try at the end. The stockcube might be very salty. When its fried and soft, add this to the broth.

In the broth, bathe the bread, in pieces.

Meanwhile, tear apart the chicken with your fingers.

Puree the pecans or walnuts in a coffee grinder, or a high speed blender, or some such implement. Alternatively, you can crush them with a stone or a cup or in a mortar. Try to get them to be a paste.

Now, if you have one of these (see below) puree the whole broth mixture with it, otherwise in a blender, or, of you do not have any of these things, just try to crush things as best you can with a spoon and fork, it will be more like stew than a cream, but the taste will still be good.

Add the chicken to the mix and put on the hob again, on a low heat.

Boil the eggs.

You can cook the rice now too. Fry a little garlic and salt. Add the rice, and double the amount of water. Add the rest of the chopped carrots. When it starts boiling, turn down the heat to the lowest, put the lid on and cook for 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook for another 5 minutes or until the rice is done.

Boil the mixture for a while longer, to let it thicken. Add the oregano and pecans. When it is quite thick, add the milk, and let thicken some more. At the end, add the parmesan.
Serve with the rice and an boiled egg for each person, cut in half.
You can also serve it with some boiles potatoes and a few black olives.