Peruvian Chicken

Peruvian Chicken is a little weird, but mostly good. It has cloves, turmeric, nuts, onions, olives, orange juice, and lime juice, just to name a few ingredients. Serve with rice or boiled potatoes.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 onion, peeled and quartered
- 1/2 piece fresh ginger (or ground ginger)
- 6-8 whole cloves (or ground cloves) (don't use too much)
- 1 to 1 1/2 lb chicken breasts
- 2-3 dried aji mirasol chiles, or 1-2 teaspoons ground chile powder
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 slices of bread
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 red or yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 1/2 teaspoons palillo or turmeric (optional)
- 3-4 small yellow, red-skinned, or purple potatoes
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts (or lightly toasted walnuts)
- hot cooked rice
- hard-boiled eggs, cut into wedges (optional)
- olives
- cilantro or Italian parsley

Directions:

In a pot, combine chicken broth with the quartered onion, ginger, and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook the chicken in the barely simmering broth for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, if you are using dried chiles, remove the stems and seeds and place the chiles in a bowl. Add the orange and lime juices and let soak for about 20 minutes to soften. Place the chiles or the chile powder in the orange and lime juices in a blender or food processor, and liquefy.

Remove the poached chicken from the broth. Shred chicken breast into pieces.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add water to cover. Add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently until tender (15-30 minutes). Drain and keep warm.

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and the palillo or turmeric, and saute until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the chile puree and continue to cook, stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated (8-10 minutes).

Without washing the blender, place the bread and evaporated milk in the blender and puree. Add the bread mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring, for a few seconds. Add 1 cup of the broth and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened and a spatula leaves a track on the bottom of the pan (about 10-15 minutes).

Add the shredded chicken to the skillet. Add 1 cup of the broth to the sauce. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spatula (about 10 minutes). Stir in the nuts. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt to taste. Serve with boiled potatoes and, if desired, hot rice. Garnish with eggs and olives. Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley.