Aji de Gallina

Peru

Also known as Ají de Pollo

About Aji de Gallina

Ají de Gallina is a creamy Peruvian dish of shredded chicken in a bright yellow sauce made from ají amarillo, Peru's fruity yellow chili. The sauce is thickened with bread soaked in evaporated milk and enriched with ground walnuts and Parmesan cheese.

The dish has roots in colonial Peru, when cooks made creamy, bread-thickened sauces in the Spanish style. Over time, local ingredients like ají amarillo turned it into something uniquely Peruvian. The name means "hen chili", as it was originally made with old laying hens.

Ají de Gallina is usually served over boiled yellow potatoes with white rice on the side, and garnished with hard-boiled egg and black olives. It is a classic Peruvian home-cooked meal and a favorite in Lima's restaurants.

Ingredients

• chicken
• aji amarillo chili
• walnuts
• parmesan cheese
• evaporated milk
• bread
• potatoes
• rice