← Nouns Cooking · Brazilian & Peruvian

Ingredients

• 800 g bone-in chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)
• 2 l Water
• 2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Red onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp Ají amarillo paste
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 bunches coriander (about 60 g leaves and soft stems)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 Carrot, diced
• 100 g long-grain white rice, rinsed
• 3 yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 corn cobs, cut into rounds
• 120 g Peas
• 1 Lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

1. Put the chicken, water and half the salt in a large pot. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam and simmer for 20 min. Lift out the chicken and keep the broth.
2. Blend the coriander with a ladle of the broth until smooth.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 min, until soft, then add the garlic, ají paste and cumin and stir for 2 min. Pour in the coriander purée and cook for 2–3 min, until it smells cooked rather than grassy.
4. Tip the green paste into the broth with the pepper, carrot and rice and bring back to a simmer. Cook for 10 min.
5. Add the potatoes, corn and the chicken pieces and simmer for 12–15 min, until the rice is soft, the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through (75°C / 165°F). Add the peas for the last 3 min.
6. Taste for salt and serve in deep bowls, one piece of chicken each, with lime wedges to squeeze over.

Tips

• The rice keeps swelling, so the soup thickens as it stands; loosen leftovers with water and reheat until piping hot.
• Ají amarillo is fruity rather than fierce; add a sliced fresh chilli to the bowls if you like real heat.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Eat Peru Peru Delights