Ají de Gallina

Ingredients

• 700 g chicken breast
• 800 ml chicken stock
• 5 tbsp ají amarillo paste
• 4 slices of white bread, crusts off
• 80 g walnuts
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 60 g parmesan, grated
• 200 ml evaporated milk
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 500 g potatoes, boiled and sliced
• 2 eggs, hard-boiled

Method

1. Poach and shred

   Simmer the chicken in the stock until just cooked, about 15 minutes, then shred it by hand into fine threads and keep the stock. Hand-shredded, not diced — the threads are what let the sauce cling.

   15 min

2. Soak the bread

   Soak the bread in some of the warm stock and blend it smooth with the walnuts. Bread is the thickener here, which is why this sauce is rich without any flour or cream.

3. Fry the ají paste

   Cook the onions and garlic in the oil until soft, then add the ají amarillo and fry for five minutes until it darkens and the oil turns orange. Frying the paste is what turns it from raw and sharp to fruity and rounded.

   5 min

4. Build the sauce

   Stir in the blended bread and walnuts with the evaporated milk and enough stock to make a thick, pourable sauce. Evaporated milk is not a shortcut here — it is what Peruvian cooks actually use, and it will not split like fresh cream.

5. Return the chicken

   Fold the shredded chicken and parmesan through and warm gently. Season well; it needs more salt than you expect.

6. Serve

   Serve over the sliced boiled potatoes with halved hard-boiled eggs alongside, and rice if you want it.