Pollo a la Peruana-Peruvian Style Chicken

The origins of the Peruvian-style chicken recipe are unknown. I saw it somewhere and I emailed the recipe to myself. Honestly, I thumb through so many cooking magazines and online blogs that I lose track of them all. As with most recipes I come across, I did alter it significantly. I can safely say that it is my recipe and I used another simply for inspiration.

Ingredients

2 tsp of paprika. I used a combination of bittersweet and spicy Spanish paprika. The paprika I have is very, very strong, hence why I only used 1 teaspoon, instead of the 1 tablespoon the recipe originally called for. If you don’t have either of these, any paprika can be used; however, use the full tablespoon. Most generic paprikas bought at supermarkets are subtle in flavor.

1 tbsp ground cumin. I ran out of cumin halfway through making this dish, otherwise I would have doubled it. That is just my preference because I simply love the taste and smell of cumin.

2 tsp of sea salt

3 tsp of black peppercorns. I used my lava-rock mortar to crush the peppercorns. You can also use ground pepper, but I highly recommend grinding it yourself in a pepper mill. I haven’t bought ground pepper in years; it doesn’t compare to the taste of fresh stuff!

8 cloves garlic. I smashed these in a mortar with the 2 tsp of sea salt until they turned into a paste. If you don’t own such a thing, you can mince the garlic.

4 tbsp sherry or white wine vinegar. The original recipe called for white wine vinegar, but upon Scott’s request to get rid of the last bit of sherry we had, I used that instead.

2 large Vidalia or sweet onions, peeled and thickly sliced

2 bell peppers, I used yellow and orange, seeded and cut into strips

1 lemon, cut into thin slices

5 boneless chicken thighs. This was enough to feed three people and I still have two left over. The original recipe called for a whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces (cut the breasts in half). If you decided to use a whole chicken, trim some of the fat. The cooking time will remain the same.

White cooking wine. I am very particular about the cooking wine I use. A great chef once said, if you can't drink it, don’t cook with it; however, my mom always used Goya Dry Cooking Wine and it has never disappointed me. If mom used it, it’s got to be good. You’ll need a drizzle or two. See below.


Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the first six ingredients to make a paste. Combine the onions and peppers in a large mixing bowl and toss with enough paste to cover all of the vegetables. Set aside. Place the boneless thighs in a baking dish making sure not to overlap them. Rub both sides of the thighs with the seasoning paste. Cover the chicken with the lemon slices. If you have any remaining lemon, simply squeeze the juice over the chicken. Place the vegetables on top of the chicken, add a drizzle or two of the cooking wine and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes or until it is cool enough to eat. I served the chicken with white rice. Make sure to pour some of the pan drippings over your rice. Yum!

If you decide to make this meal, please give me your feedback.

Buen Provecho!