Galinha ao molho pardoChicken in dark blood sauce
Country cooking from the state of Rio and southern Minas Gerais, galinha ao molho pardo (also called galinha de cabidela) is cooked at weekend gatherings with a free-range hen, and served with angu, white rice and okra. The chicken is braised with onion, garlic, tomato and herbs, then the sauce is finished with the bird's blood mixed with vinegar, which turns it dark brown, velvety and savoury, with a gentle sourness. It tastes richer and deeper than an ordinary stew. Buy fresh chicken blood from a licensed poultry butcher or halal butcher, ask for it mixed with vinegar so it does not clot, keep it in the fridge and use it within 24 hours. The usual mistake is boiling the sauce hard after the blood goes in, which makes it grainy; stir it at a gentle simmer instead. The blood must be cooked right through. Chef's tip: temper the blood with a ladle of hot sauce before adding it to the pot.

































