Aji de Gallina (Andean Creamed Chicken)

A gallina is a hen in Spanish. The recipe was designed to use stewing hens but we substituted chicken thighs.

You'll need:

• 6 chicken thighs
• 4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
• 1 stalk of celery - chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carrot - coarsely chopped
• 1 onion - finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of aji amarillo - finely chopped (aji means chile)
• 1/4 of a sweet red bell pepper - chopped
• 6 slices of bread
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 2 tablespoons of ground pecans
• 2 tablespoons of ground parmesan cheese
• 10 black olives, pitted
• 1/4 cup of oil
• Slices of sweet red pepper for garnish
• 2 hard boiled eggs - cut in halves
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• Finely chopped parsley for garnish
• Adult help

Equipment:

• Measuring cups and spoons
• A sharp knife
• A cutting board
• A mini-prep food processor or mortar and pestle
• A fork
• A large spoon
• A spatula
• A medium-sized pot
• A deep skillet

1. Place chicken in the medium-sized pot with celery, bay leaf, carrot and salt.
2. Cover with hot water.
3. Bring to a boil and cook until tender - about 35 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from the broth and shred into large pieces. Save 1/2 cup of broth.
5. Soak the 6 pieces of bread in the milk and set aside.
6. Put the aji amarillo, the red sweet pepper and olive oil into the processer and process until creamy.
7. In the skillet, saute garlic, onion, pepper, and aji mixture until the onion is translucent.
8. Meanwhile, use a fork to break up the soaked bread until it's a fine mash.
9. When the onions are cooked, add the bread soaked in milk and stir.
10. Add the broth, a little at a time, stirring as you go. If necessary add milk to reach a creamy consistency.
11. Add the shredded chicken, salt, pepper and ground pecans.
12. Place mixture in the center of platter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
13. Decorate with halves of hard boiled eggs, thin slices of red sweet pepper and olives.
14. Sprinkle on the parsley for a dash of color.
15. Serve with white rice.