Recipes

All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

Filters (5)

16 recipes

Estofado de polloChicken stew

Estofado de pollo is the mild, homely chicken stew of Lima's family kitchens and school lunches, usually on the table on a weekday or a quiet Sunday with white rice. Chicken pieces are browned, then braised in a sauce of onion, garlic, tomato, a little ají panca paste and bay, with carrots, peas and yellow potatoes cooked right in the pot until the sauce is thick and orange. It is comforting rather than hot. The usual mistake is boiling it hard, which shreds the potatoes and dries the chicken; keep it at a lazy bubble. Chef's tip: use a few yellow potatoes along with waxy ones; they collapse slightly and thicken the sauce naturally.

65 min

Peruvian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mandi'o chyryryFried cassava with onion and egg

Mandi'o chyryry means 'fried cassava' in Guaraní, and it is what rural Paraguayan families make from yesterday's boiled mandi'o: chunks crushed and fried in a big pan with onion until crisp in places, then scrambled with eggs. It comes out for breakfast with cocido or for a quick supper, and costs next to nothing. Use sweet cassava, the kind sold in supermarkets. The mistake is stirring constantly, which turns it to mush; let the cassava sit and brown. Chef's tip: the best chyryry starts with cold, day-old boiled cassava, which fries crisper than freshly boiled.

45 min

Paraguayan Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicken kdra with almonds

Kdra takes its name from the tall copper pot it was cooked in, and in Fez it is a festive dish for weddings and family gatherings rather than an everyday tagine. The sauce is the point: kilos of onion melted down with smen, saffron, white pepper and cinnamon until it turns pale gold and creamy, with no tomato or paprika at all. Soft chickpeas and almonds simmered until tender go into it, and the whole thing is scooped up with bread. Expect a mellow, perfumed, buttery richness rather than heat. Chef's tip: soak and simmer the blanched almonds with the chicken; they lose their crunch and become creamy like the chickpeas, which is how Fassi cooks like them.

95 min

Moroccan Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TridSaffron chicken on pastry sheets

Before pastilla became the showpiece, Fez and Marrakech made trid, a dish so old it is sometimes called the grandmother of rfissa. Sheets of dough are stretched until you can read through them, cooked briefly on an upturned pot, then layered on a platter and soaked with the cooking juices of chicken simmered with onions, lentils, saffron and a whisper of fenugreek. The pastry softens into silky, almost noodle-like folds, the sauce is golden and peppery, and the chicken sits on top in big pieces to be shared by hand. It is served at family lunches, for guests, and to women after childbirth. Chef's tip: oil your hands and the work surface generously when stretching the dough; it is the oil, not flour, that lets it go paper-thin without tearing.

150 min

Moroccan Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RfissaChicken with shredded flatbread and lentils

Ask anyone in Rabat or Salé when they last ate rfissa and the answer is often a birth, a naming day or a big family Friday: it is the dish brought to new mothers, because fenugreek and lentils are believed to restore strength. Torn strips of msemen, the flaky square pancake, are steamed until soft and piled high, then drenched in a broth of chicken, onion, ras el hanout and fenugreek that is warming, earthy and a little bitter-sweet. The chicken crowns the mound and everyone eats from the shared platter. Use homemade or bought msemen; day-old is best. Chef's tip: steam the shredded msemen over the simmering broth before saucing it, so it swells and softens instead of turning claggy.

120 min

Moroccan Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Djaj mhammerSaffron butter roast chicken

Mhammer means reddened or browned, and that final colour is what sets this Rabat and Fez favourite apart from a tagine. The bird is first poached in a little water with butter, garlic, saffron, cumin and paprika, so the meat soaks up the spices and stays juicy, then it goes into a hot oven to crisp and turn burnished while the cooking liquid reduces into a rich, buttery sauce. Moroccan families serve it at weddings and on Eid with olives, preserved lemon, fried or roasted potatoes and bread. Chef's tip: keep the poaching liquid at a gentle shiver, not a boil; boiling tightens the meat and the skin splits before it ever browns.

100 min

Moroccan Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mderbel (tangy aubergine relish)

Where zaalouk is a smoky mash, mderbel keeps its aubergine in soft, silky slices that have been fried first and then stewed down with garlic, sweet paprika, cumin and a sharp splash of vinegar. Old Fez families make it as one of the cooked salads that open a festive meal, and it keeps beautifully for a few days, so it is often made the day before. The flavour is rich from the oil, tangy, a little sweet and deeply garlicky; serve it at room temperature with bread, alongside other salads or next to grilled vegetables. The usual mistake is frying the aubergine in oil that isn't hot enough, so the slices drink it up and turn greasy. Chef's tip: salt the slices and leave them for 20 minutes, then pat them very dry; they drink far less oil and fry to a deep gold.

60 min

Moroccan Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

HuatiaEarth-baked potatoes

After the potato harvest in May and June, families in Puno, Cusco and across the highlands build a huatia in the field: a little dome of dry earth clods heated with dried brush until the clods glow, then knocked down over freshly dug potatoes and oca so they bake slowly underground. Opened an hour later, the potatoes are smoky, floury and so soft their skins split, and the oca turns sweet and tangy. Everyone eats them with their hands, with salt, chilli sauce and fresh cheese. This recipe gives an oven method for home cooks: a lidded pot bedded with coarse salt and herbs, which traps heat and steam much like the earth. If you do try a real huatia outdoors, use a clear patch of ground away from anything that can catch fire and keep water nearby. Don't uncover the pot early to check: the steam escapes and the potatoes turn leathery. Fresh oca is sold in some markets as New Zealand yam; small sweet potatoes will do. Chef's tip: choose potatoes of a similar size so they all finish together, and serve with uchucuta.

80 min

Peruvian Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TipakayChicken in sweet-sour tamarind sauce

Sweet, tangy and a little sticky, tipakay is the chifa order for people who like their sauce on the fruity side: battered pieces of chicken fried crisp, then dressed in a dark, glossy sauce built on tamarind, panela and soy, with strips of red and green pepper and onion that keep some crunch. It is one of the most popular platters in Lima's family-run chifas, eaten with white rice or chaufa. Its sauce is darker and less candy-sweet than kam lu's, with tamarind's sour depth. The mistake most home cooks make is letting the peppers stew until soft; give them only a minute in the wok so they stay bright. Chef's tip: taste the sauce before thickening and balance it: more lime if it's cloying, a pinch more panela if it's too sour.

45 min

Peruvian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pollo chi jau kayFried chicken in oyster sauce

Any chifa in Lima, from the old dining rooms of Barrio Chino on Calle Capón to the corner chifa in every district, will have chi jau kay on the menu: boneless chicken marinated in soy and ginger, fried in a crisp coating and served under a dark, glossy oyster sauce, scattered with sesame seeds and spring onion. The crust stays crunchy where the sauce hasn't reached and goes sticky where it has. It is shared with arroz chaufa or plain rice and a Chinese soup. The usual misstep is tossing the chicken in the sauce in the pan, which makes it soggy; Lima chifas pour the sauce over at the table. Chef's tip: fry the chicken twice, once to cook and once very hot for a minute to crisp, and it will stay crunchy under the sauce.

45 min

Peruvian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TacachoMashed roasted green plantain balls

Tacacho is the breakfast of the Peruvian Amazon, from Tarapoto to Iquitos: green plantains roasted over coals, mashed with fat and salt and shaped into balls. There it comes with cecina (smoked pork) and is mashed with lard and crackling; this vegan tacacho uses good oil and a pinch of smoked paprika for the same savoury, smoky depth. The balls are dense, chewy and starchy, crisp at the edges where the plantain charred, and they are eaten hot with a fiery chilli sauce or alongside stews. Use plantains that are fully green and firm. Chef's tip: mash the plantains while they are still very hot; as green plantain cools its starch sets and it won't bind into a smooth ball.

35 min

Peruvian Sides

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Pollo a la brasaRoast chicken with green chilli sauce

Born in the 1950s in Chaclacayo, just east of Lima, this rotisserie chicken has grown into a national obsession, with its own holiday on the third Sunday of July and a pollería on almost every block. The bird is marinated in soy sauce, lime, garlic, cumin and ají panca, then roasted until the skin is lacquered and dark. At home a hot oven does the job, and the meal is not complete without chips, a simple salad and a jar of creamy green ají sauce. Chef's tip: dry the skin well and leave the chicken uncovered in the fridge overnight after marinating; it roasts up much crisper.

105 min

Peruvian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Arroz con pollo peruanoCoriander rice with chicken

Across Spanish-speaking America arroz con pollo means yellow rice, but in Lima it comes out deep green, thanks to a big bunch of coriander blended into the cooking liquid. Mothers make it for Sunday lunch and for birthday parties, and street stalls ladle it out with salsa criolla, the sharp onion-and-lime relish that cuts through the rice. Chicken pieces are browned first, then the rice cooks in the same pot so it takes on all their flavour. Chef's tip: blend the coriander with cold stock right before it goes in, so it stays bright green rather than turning khaki.

70 min

Peruvian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ají de gallinaChicken in creamy chilli sauce

Lima's old criollo kitchens turned leftover hens into this golden, velvety stew, and it still turns up at family lunches, office canteens and menú del día stalls all over the capital. Poached chicken is pulled into threads and folded into a sauce thickened with milk-soaked bread, ground walnuts and parmesan, coloured by ají amarillo, Peru's fruity yellow chilli. It is served over white rice with boiled potatoes, a halved egg and a black olive. Chef's tip: keep the poaching broth; loosening the sauce with it instead of more milk gives a deeper, more chickeny flavour.

70 min

Peruvian Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicken tagine with preserved lemon & olives

Few dishes say Fez quite like djaj mqualli, the golden chicken that turns up at family lunches, weddings and Friday tables across the old medina. The chicken simmers slowly in its own juices with grated onion, ginger and saffron until the meat slips off the bone and the onions melt into a thick, glossy, yellow sauce. Salty-sour preserved lemon and bright green olives go in near the end, cutting through the richness. Mop it up with crusty bread, or spoon it over plain couscous for a weekday dinner. Chef's tip: grate the onion rather than chopping it; it dissolves completely and gives the sauce its body without any flour.

75 min

Moroccan Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicken pastilla

No Fassi wedding or engagement feast is complete without bastila, a showpiece pie brought out as the first course and broken open at the table. Under its crackling layers of buttered pastry sit three fillings: shredded chicken cooked with saffron, ginger and onion, soft lemony eggs set in the reduced cooking juices, and crunchy almonds ground with sugar and cinnamon. The top is dusted with icing sugar and a lattice of cinnamon, so every bite is sweet, savoury, crisp and tender at once. Serve it hot with nothing more than a green salad. Chef's tip: make the fillings a day ahead and chill them; cold fillings are easier to layer and keep the pastry crisp.

150 min

Moroccan Chicken

by KrazyBadal 0 views