Australian Gourmet Traveller - (06)June 2019 (1)

108 GOURMET TRAVELLER

TINGADEPOLLO

Chicken tinga

SERVES 2-4

“ThefirstrecipeanyMexicanwillcookassoonastheymoveout

oftheirparents’homeandliveontheirown,”saysEnriqueOlvera.

“Itis easy,remindseveryoneofhome,andtheingredientsarevery

accessible.It canbea soupystewservedoverwhitericeorwith

tortillas.If youcookit downa bitmore,it is a greattoppingona

tostada with shredded lettuce, some crema, cheese and fresh salsa.”

455 gmskinlesschickenbreasts

2 largewhiteonions,

1 halved,1 sliced

6 garliccloves,3 whole,

3 sliced

60 ml(¼cup)vegetableoil

4 driedchipotlechillies,

seedsremoved,soaked

for 30 minutesin1 cuphot

water(orcannedchipotle

chillies),finelychopped

toa paste

9 (about1kg)Romatomatoes,

coarselychopped

1 Combinethechicken,halved

onion,wholegarliccloves

and1 tbspsaltina saucepan.

Addenoughwatertocover

andbringtoa simmerover

medium-highheat.Simmer,

uncovered,skimming

occasionallytoremoveany

impurities, until chicken is

cookedthrough(30-40minutes).

Removethechickenfromthe

brothwitha slottedspoonand

setasideuntilcoolenough

tohandle.Withyourhands,

shredchicken.Strainand

reservethebroth.

2 Heatoilina largesaucepan

overmediumheat.Addsliced

onionandgarlicandcookuntil

translucent(about5 minutes).

Addshreddedchicken,chilli,

tomatoand250mlchicken

broth(reservetheremainder

foranotheruse)andcookuntil

tomatobreaksdownandturns

a brickcolour(10-15minutes).

Seasonwithsalttotaste.Add

somemorecookingbrothif

necessary;theconsistency

shouldbea bitsoupy.Serve

hot.Tingawillkeep,refrigerated

inanairtightcontainer,fora

week, or frozen for a month.

C

ookingis simplerthanit seems,especiallyif

youloveeating.Eatingis delicious,especially

if youlovegoodconversation.Inmyhome,asin

mostofmycountry,welovetoeatandconverse;

wethereforelovetocook.Cookingis a labour

ofnurturinglove,ofneighbourlycare.

Sazón– theincrediblypersonalmagicalseasoningpowers

everyonehas– variesimmenselyfromfamilytofamily.Home

cookingis a verypersonalaffair.It is a reflectionofwhowe

were,whoweare,andevenofwhowedoordon’twanttobe.

It is impossiblenottocarry,whereveryourpathleadsyou,

theflavoursyougrewupwith.Theseflavourstravelwelland

knownoborders.Theytraveltimeandplacethroughword

ofmouth,anheirloom,a barelylegiblefalling-apartnotebook.

Theseflavoursaremeddlesome,resilient,andstubborn.

Nomatterthelengthofthejourney,theywillalwayspersevere.

Becauseofthis,theyexistbeyondjusta craving.Theytakeusto

a placeofserenity,safety,pride.Justa whiffofa homemadesoup

canmakeyoufeelasif everythingis okay,thatthereis a place

you belong to and a place that belongs to you. It is a hug.