Chicken Stew - Estofado de Pollo
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Today I am sharing my recipe of Chicken Stew – “Estofado de Pollo”, Chicken stew is a staple in many cuisines, in fact, it is a common dish in the Peruvian cuisine too, I will be sharing the recipe I grew up with, it has some Peruvian ingredients, that little twist makes it even more delicious. totally worth trying.
This was one of those dishes that my mom and grandmother made during the cold days, I used to eat them straight out of the pot (boiling hot) since I wanted to get warm, for the ones that don’t know me well, I don’t eat anything that is boiling hot because I hate to burn my tongue (is my most precious working tool so I need to take care of it), however when I feel cold I do things that I usually don’t do often.Â
People love to take simple dishes to the “next level” here are some tips to take your Chicken Stew one step further:
- – Cut all your ingredients (the ones that you can) to the same size, this will help with the cooking process.
- – Don’t add all the ingredients at the same time in that way they don’t end overcook (the – order should be chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, etc)
- – Avoid using chicken breast go for another cut, tights are great for any stew, they hold up and don’t go dry (do not remove the bones that is where the flavor is)
- – Flowering your chicken will add not only color but also thicken your stew.
- – Let it cook at low temperature for a long period of time in that way the flavors will develop and you will end up with a tasty stew, especially if you add some wine to it.
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"Estofado de Pollo"
Ingredients
- Vegetable Oil
- 4 Pieces of Chicken
- 1 Red onion diced
- 1 Tomato diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves chopped
- 1 Red bell Pepper chopped (optional)
- 2 tablespoons of "Aji Panca Paste"
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 cup of chopped carrots
- 1 cup of peas
- 1 cup of flour
- 2 cups of Chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of Raisins
- 4 Potatoes peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add some salt and pepper to your chicken then flour it.
- In a hot pot add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil , seal your chicken (2 min per side) then reserve.
- In the same pot add onions, garlic, "aji panca paste", let it cook for 7 minutes then add tomato, bell pepper, and let it cook for 5 more min then , blend it one cup of chicken broth.
- Put the mix into the pot , add chicken , more chicken broth , potatoes, bay leaf , tablespoon of salt. let it cook for at least 10 min then add carrots, peas , raisins and let it cook for 4 min or until potatoes are cooked.
- Once its done add some chopped parsley and its good to go.
they key to great flavor is patience, and some knife skills, cutting finely your onions, garlic will help them cook evenly avoiding them to burn.Â
No one wants some colorless chicken, browning them is crucial since it will develop a different flavor. let it have some color, before adding the other ingredients, and do not clean that pot, after you are done with the chicken otherwise you are removing a lot of flavors.Â
I love crunchy carrots that is why I like them thick however the cooking time will be longer that is why I add them with my potatoes, please do not overcook your ingredients.
Here is the “tricky” part, just add some tiny amount of water, if you add a considerable amount of water once potatoes and other ingredients start releasing their juices you will end up with a soup, no one wants that believe me.Â
Estofado de Pollo, people ask me why I didn’t add wine to my recipe, answer is that in Peru wine is something that most people don’t use on their daily cooking, if you have good wine of hand use it, it will improve the flavor of the stew. try this recipe and let me know what you think!Â
