Aji De Gallina-Style Chicken Stew With Brown Rice

Take your chicken out of the fridge, open the packet and let it air

Rinse your brown rice, add it to a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20-25 min or until it's tender with a slight bite

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot and keep covered until serving

Meanwhile, peel and cut your brown onion[s] into quarters, then separate the wedges so you end up with a pile of onion petals

Deseed your pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and chop into large wedges

Crush your garlic open by squashing them with the side of a knife and discard the skins

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a high heat

Once hot, add the onion petals, chopped pepper and peeled garlic

Cook for 2-3 min or until starting to char

Chop your red chilli[es] in half

Tip: Not a fan of spice? Remove the seeds!

Add your walnuts and 50ml [75ml] [100ml] milk to a food processor with half the chopped chilli (can't handle the heat? Go easy!), your chicken stock mix, Italian hard cheese , 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] flour and a very generous pinch of salt and pepper

Once the veg is starting to char, transfer the charred pepper to the food processor with the garlic and half the onion petals – this is your aji de gallina mix

Return the pan with the remaining onion to a high heat and add your chicken breast strips with a pinch of salt and pepper

Cook for 5-6 min on each side or until golden and cooked through (no pink meat!)

Meanwhile, blitz the aji de gallina mix until smooth – this is your aji de gallina sauce

Chop your parsley finely, including the stalks

Slice the remaining red chilli finely

Once the chicken is cooked through, add the aji de gallina-style sauce to the pan with a pinch of salt and pepper

Cook for 1-2 min or until fragrant and thickened – this is your aji de gallina-style chicken stew