Pollo Guisado

[ElsieD]

I was in a little Latin American market yesterday and bought a spice mix called Relajo Molido. The contents consists of sesame seeds, oregano, bay leaves, garlic, Pumpkin seeds, plum, chili's, Annato, ground cloves, cumin and black pepper. It is a product of El Salvador. I was told that it is used to make a chicken stew in which you cook chicken, potatoes, carrots and this spice. When I got home I did some googling and found recipes for the above which sounded like the dish the gentleman at the store was telling me about. However, there are a myriad of recipes and since I am not familiar with this cuisine I have no idea what is authentic what isn't. Various recipes call for items such as pineapple, capers, cilantro, and olives among other things. The items that seem to be standard are, of course, the chicken, potatoes,carrots, garlic, tomatoes, chicken broth and this spice, although as far as the spices go, they list the individual ones that more or less make up the mixture that I have. Can anyone point me to a recipe that I should follow? Thanks in advance.

[Jaymes]

This is tricky.  And my suggestion might not be a lot of help but I did live in Panama for several years, and my experience is that basically you're talking about stewed chicken.  And almost every home cook in Latin America makes it and there are just as many versions.  So asking for a particular "recipe" is like asking for a recipe for beef stew. 

 

I'd suggest that you start with the basics that you listed in your sentence that begins "the items that seem to be standard are, of course" and then fiddle with adding interesting extras like capers, pineapple and olives after you get your basic stewed chicken to a dish you like.

 

Some folks make a soupy version, so you'd eat it like that, in a bowl with a spoon.  And others cook it until it's drier, and then serve it over rice.

[huiray]

Sounds like asking for the One And Only And True recipe for "fried rice". :-)

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

Just an idea: you might try finding a Daisy Martinez recipe for stewed chicken or Guisado. Her influences are mostly Puerto Rican, but she gets around. And her basic sofrito has proved very useful for a variety of things.