PERUVIAN CHICKEN STEW (for four)

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

10 fresh or thawed frozen aji amarillo or fresno peppers (about ½ pound, jalapeno chiles will work in a pinch), stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped

16 whole cloves garlic, plus 4 cloves finely chopped

kosher salt, to taste

one 4 pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

4 plum tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup pisco or white rum

2 medium new potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and quartered

1-1/2 cups chicken broth

2 cups steamed long grain white rice, for serving

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1.   In a blender, puree 1 tablespoon of the oil along with the vinegar, turmeric, cumin, peppers, whole garlic and salt to make a thick paste.  Place the chicken in a large baking dish and spread the paste all over the chicken with a rubber spatula; cover tightly with plastic wrap and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.

2.   Transfer the marinade to a bowl, using a butter knife to scrape any excess marinade from the chicken; set the marinade aside.

3.   Heat the remaining oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.  Working in batches, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook, flipping once, until browned over, about 10 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

 4.   Add the remaining garlic and cook stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 20 seconds.  Reduce heat to medium and add the onions and cook, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.  Add the reserved marinade, cilantro and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have softened, about 5 minutes.  Remove pot from the heat and add the pisco.  Return pot to heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes.  Nestle the chicken into the pot along with the potatoes and pour in the chicken broth; season well with salt.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, tightly covered, until potatoes are fork tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes.  Serve the chicken stew over steamed rice.

from Saveur Magazine, September 10, 2010