Picante de pollo – spicy chicken stew from north-west Argentina
Chicken simmered in a fiery red sauce of onion, tomato and ground chilli, with peas. In Salta and Jujuy it's served with both boiled potatoes and white rice; there is also a version made with beef tongue.
- 1 h 15Time
- 31 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- ≈ $ 3.200per portion
- 920kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 3 tbspRapeseed oil
- 3Yellow onions, chopped
- 4 clovesGarlic, chopped
- 3Tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 tbspChili flakes
- 1 tbspPaprika
- 1 tspCumin
- 1Whole roasting chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
- 2Bay leaves
- ≈ 500 mlWater
- to tasteSalt
- to tasteBlack pepper
- 200 gGreen peas, frozen
On the side
- 800 gPotato
- 200 gRice
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pot and cook the onions over a medium heat for 10 minutes, until soft and golden.
- Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down.
- Stir in the chilli flakes, paprika and cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute without letting them burn.
- Add the chicken pieces and turn them in the sauce. Add the bay leaves, water, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
- Cover and simmer for 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
- Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and halve any large ones.
- Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes, until tender.
- Cook the rice in plenty of salted water for about 15 minutes, then drain.
- Uncover, add the peas and simmer for 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a little.
- Drain the potatoes and serve the picante with the potatoes and rice.
The cost is estimated from average prices in Argentina (INDEC, Precios al consumidor de una selección de alimentos, bebidas y otros artículos: Gran Buenos Aires (GBA; INDEC publishes no national average). Brought forward with the GBA food CPI (IPC, Alimentos y bebidas no alcohólicas)., 2026-08).
