Picante de Pollo - A modified Bolivian Recipe

aji amarillo

🥗Healthier: aji panca

💰Cheaper: red bell pepper

aji panca offers a milder flavor while red bell pepper is more accessible.

chicken

🥗Healthier: turkey

💰Cheaper: chicken thighs

turkey is leaner, while chicken thighs are often less expensive.

potatoes

🥗Healthier: sweet potatoes

💰Cheaper: yams

sweet potatoes add nutrition, while yams are budget-friendly.

vegetable oil

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: canola oil

olive oil has health benefits, while canola is cost-effective.

Start by boiling the chicken. Cover chicken breasts with water and boil for about 10 minutes.

In a separate pot, boil the potatoes, skin on.

Steam the green peas for 3-4 minutes, drain, set aside.

Get a skillet, put it on the stovetop and turn heat to medium. Add half a cup of water and 4 oz of aji paste.

As sauce boils, lower heat a little bit so you don’t burn the sauce. Add minced garlic and olive oil. Keep stirring slowly.

Add cumin and black pepper. Stir slowly and taste to see if sauce needs any adjusting.

Turn heat off, rinse one potato until it’s cool to the touch. Peel it carefully. Use half the potato, smash it and add to the sauce. Keep stirring as you smash.

If you made it too spicy and would like to lower the heat a bit, add half a teaspoon of sugar to make it less spicy.

If the sauce is too thick or you would like to have more sauce, add half a cup of chicken stock. Stir again.

Add the chicken to the sauce. If you like your chicken to have a bit of a crust, fry it for a minute on each side before transferring it to the spicy sauce.

Turn heat on low and let the chicken absorb the flavor of the sauce, leave simmering for at least 15 minutes.

Chop tomatoes and onion in julienne strips and put them in a separate bowl. Sprinkle with salt and add 2 tbsps of olive oil, mix well.

Serve the chicken and spicy sauce over your favorite side dish. Cut the leftover boiled potatoes in circles and add to plate. Add green peas over chicken. Add a little bit of the tomato/onion fresh salsa over the dish. Sprinkle with parsley and dig in.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: