Guisado de pollo
This is based on a Dominican dish, though I’ve made my own additions (the traditional version doesn’t use chipotles) and left out the green olives that often appear. If you don’t want to buy a pineapple, it’s okay here to use pineapple canned in natural juice (not in syrup!). It does make things easier. Despite the long list of ingredients, this is a an easy supper dish.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 800 g 1lb 12oz skinless boneless chicken thighs
- salt and pepper
- 75 g 2¾oz pumpkin, cut into 2.5cm (1in) chunks
- 400 g 14oz waxy potatoes, cut into 1cm (½in) chunks
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1 red pepper halved, deseeded and chopped
- 6 garlic cloves grated
- 4 tsp ground cumin
- ½ medium-sized pineapple peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
- 400 g can of tomatoes in thick juice
- 1 tsp soft dark brown sugar
- 2 canned chipotles in adobo sauce finely chopped, or 3 tbsp chipotle paste
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 500 ml 18fl oz chicken stock
- 1 jalapeño chilli halved lengthways and deseeded
- 2 tbsp capers rinsed of vinegar or brine
- juice of 1 lime
- small bunch of coriander roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat half the oil in a casserole and brown the chicken on both sides over a medium-high heat, in batches if necessary so as not to crowd the pan, seasoning as you do so.
- You are not trying to cook the chicken through, just colour it well.
- Remove the pieces and put them into a dish.
- Put the pumpkin and potatoes into the oil in the pan and cook for about five minutes, until the vegetables are just becoming tinged with gold.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add the rest of the oil to the casserole and sauté the onion and pepper until they are softening and the onion is pale gold, about eight minutes.
- Add the garlic and cumin and cook for another two minutes.
- Stir in the pineapple, tomatoes, sugar, chipotles, thyme and chicken stock and season.
- Bring gradually to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Cut the chicken into strips and add to the pot along with any of the juices that have run out of it, along with the pumpkin and potatoes.
- Put the jalapeño into the pot too, stirring gently, then leave everything to simmer, uncovered, for about 25 minutes.
- Stir it a few times during the cooking.
- The vegetables should be soft and the cooking juices should have thickened.
- Add the capers and lime juice and taste for seasoning.
- Stir in the coriander and serve.
