Aji's Grilled Chicken

It is quite obvious that the Chef loves cooking as much as the Swede loves photography. Despite that feeling, inspiration is also a key ingredient to make it work, for even the most talented artists have their bad uninspired days. Today, the chef of this blog experienced the exact opposite. From the moment the Swedish Chef woke up until right now the ideas didn't stop flowing and several notes have been made. Then, it was not a surprise that at dinner time a simple grilled chicken dish became a fusion of ideas and flavours. The inspiration for this dish came from a recent trip to Peru, and from how much we miss the old continent.  

Ingredients (serve 2):

2 chicken breasts

5 baroa potatoes

5 garlic cloves

1 dried yellow aji pepper

1 small onion

2 mature tomatoes

1 teaspoon of black pepper

A pinch of sugar

A pinch of salt

Oregano

Olive oil

Grilled chicken:

Open the chicken breasts to get thiner pieces (cut them in half if they are too big). Chop the garlic cloves and the aji pepper and spread homogeneously on the chicken breasts. Let it rest for at least 2h. Afterwards, remove the garlic and the aji pepper and set aside. Grill the chicken.

Aji sauce:

Pre-heat a pan with a spoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and the aji pepper used to season the chicken. Add the onion chopped in brunoise. Let it cook for about 3 minutes and add the tomatoes chopped in small pieces. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Cook at low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture has become thick (about 10 minutes). Add oreganos to taste, stir and serve hot.

Baroa potato mash:

Done here.

Notes:

The different kinds of aji peppers are mainly found in South America. This ingredient can be replaced by chili peppers. The flavour will be different but equally tasty. 

The yellow aji pepper is considered to be medium-hot. You can increase or decrease the spice level by using different kinds of aji's.

Green cream & homemade crutons

Here in the south hemisphere, the winter is beginning and the 35ºC were left behind. When we get home in the end of the day it feels good to eat something warm. Here, the soup season is officially open! 

Ingredients:
5 slices of bread
Oregano
Olive oil

1 squash
1 zucchini
1 big potato
1 leek
1 bunch of watercress
1 bunch of coriander
Olive oil
Salt

Crutons:
Chop the bread in small cubes. Sprinkle with olive oil and oregano. Bake in a pre-heated oven until it toastes (about 10 minutes).

Cream:
Start heating water in a big pan. Add all the vegetables (except the coriander and the watercress) chopped in small pieces and add salt to taste. When the vegetables are tender, add half of the leaves and a few drops of olive oil. Process the mixture. Add the remaining leaves roughly chopped and simmer for a few minutes. Serve with the homemade crutons.

Creamy Spinach

Green vegetables are often the children (and some adults too!) nightmare. When that's the case I have two suggestions: a) cook these veggies in a more fun way, and b) when you announce dinner make it sound like they will eat the best they ever had (wow... today I made spinach! Isn't that great?). While the second totally depends on your acting abilities, here goes a recipe to help you on the first.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spinach
1 tablespoon of flower
1 cup of milk
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup of cream cheese
1/2 onion
The juice of 1/2 orange 
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
Olive oil

In a pre-heated skillet, add the spinach and cook until wilted, tossing now and then. Afterwards, remove the spinach, drain, squeeze out as much liquid as possible and chop. Set aside.

Heat up the olive oil in the skillet and add the garlic and the onions, finely chopped, and cook for a few minutes. Introduce the spinach, and cook for a couple of minutes at low heat. Add the flower and stir until the mixture is thick. Add the milk and the cream cheese and let it cook stirring frequently. When the mixture is thick and creamy, turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper, and add the orange juice. Serve hot.

Notes:
Add some parmesan cheese on top, or incorporate it in the mixture with the milk.
You can replace the cream cheese by fresh cream.