Galinha Caipira
Chicken stew ubiquitous in rural Brazil. Perfect pair with rice and beans, polenta or boiled cassava root.
Served with steamed jasmine rice and seasoned black beans.
Ingredients for 2
- ½ whole ckicken weighing close to 2,5kg (roughly 3 pounds). Avoid industrially grown birds, as those can make the stew very greasy and flavorless
- ½ cup diced onions of any kind
- ¼ a cup of diced chives
- ½ tbsp lard
- ½ full kettle of boiled water
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Side: Steamed jasmine rice
- ⅔ cup jasmine rice
- 1 cup water
Side: Seasoned black beans
- ½ can black beans
- ½ tsp ground cumin
Instructions
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Cut the chicken into pieces. Remove offal or small bones, if you want. Salt and pepper to taste now.
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In a pan (best if cast iron), add the lard and heat it up very well.
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Add the chicken and lower the heat.
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After the meat sears, add the diced onions.
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When the onions brown, cover the pot with boiling water, and let it simmer for two hours. If it dries, add more water.
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About 25 minutes before serving, start the rice: rinse the jasmine rice, then bring it to a boil with the water and a pinch of salt. Cover, simmer on low for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and keep covered until serving.
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After those two hours, add the diced chives and simmer it for more thirty minutes.
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Warm the black beans with their liquid, the cumin and a pinch of salt for 5 minutes.