El Salvador: Slow-Braised Chicken Pinol with Casamiento Rice & Curtido Pickled Slaw

Known as the ‘Land of Volcanoes’, El Salvador is the only Central American country that doesn’t have an east-facing Caribbean coastline. Instead, El Salvador faces west into the Pacific Ocean where it is a player in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a volcanic zone where eruptions and earth quakes are common.

500 years ago, El Salvador was home to the eclectic Pipil people. Influenced by both Mayan and Aztec cultures the Pipil were highly adept in art-making, astronomy, and maths. They had a complex, cooperative agricultural society centred around maize, beans, and cacao, but all that changed in 1524 when Spanish conquistadores forcibly colonised the Pipil and their lands. Then, 300 years later, in 1821, El Salvador claimed its independence back from Spain.

over the last 200 years El Salvadore’s cuisine has become as eclectic as its Pipil ancestors, weaving ancient culinary traditions and ingredients such as tomatoes and avocado together with introduced Spanish food practices. With a spice palate of cinnamon, bay leaf, sesame, pepita, fresh herbs and chilli, El Salvadorian cuisine is flavour deep and layered. What sets El Salvador’s food story apart from the spicer and more well know cuisines of near neighbouring countries such as Mexico, is a commitment to letting flavours subtly speak for themselves rather than letting chilli dominate and carry the conversation.

our

El SALVADORIAN

menu included

SLOW-BRAISED CHICKEN PINOL

with

CASAMIENTO RICE

and

CURTIDO PICKLED SLAW

served with

lime wedges and corn tortillas

SLOW-BRAISED CHICKEN PINOL

I have read that ‘Pinol’ means toasted cornflour. I don’t know if that’s true but I do know that this recipe combining chicken with toasted cornflour is divine.

Ingredients:

Key Ingredients:

· 1 whole chicken cut in pieces or equivalent in chicken pieces e.g. 8 thighs

· 2 tbs olive oil

· 1/2 an onion, peeled and diced

· 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

· 2 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut in 2cn cubes

· 2 tomatoes, de-cored and chopped in 2 cm dice

· 1/2 green bell pepper (capsicum), deseeded and cut in 2 cm dice

· 1 1/2 cups ground yellow corn/maize flour, toasted (see instructions)

· 4 cups chicken stock, cooled

· 1 tsp salt

· 3-4 tbs Relajo Spice Mix (or make it yourself – see ingredients below)

Relajo Spice Mix Ingredients:

· 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

· 6 whole cloves

· 1 tbs pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas)

· 1 tbs sesame seeds

· 1/2 tsp achiote/annatto powder (or replace with 1/2 tsp equal parts nutmeg, turmeric and sweet paprika powders mixed together)

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dry)

· 2 sprig fresh oregano, leaves removed from stem (or 1/4 tsp dry)

· 3 bay leaves, fresh or dried, removed from stem and chopped

· 1 medium dry chilli (measurement is a guide – can be more/less to taste), deseeded and chopped; could be guaco, ancho, ciruela, pasilla, or a mix

Method:

1. Begin by toasting the ground yellow corn/maize flour. Using a medium heat, it can be toasted under a grill, in a baking tray in the oven, or in a dry frypan on top of the stove. The most important thing is to keep a good eye on it and move it around a lot by shaking or using a spoon to stop it burning

2. Once the maize flour is toasted to golden put it aside to cool

3. If you are making the Relajo Spice Mix we will now move on to its preparation, but if you are using pre-prepared Relajo skip to step 8.

4. Heat a heavy-based dry fry pan to medium/low and toast the pepitas and sesame seeds in the pan until light brown/golden, keeping a close eye on the pan and shaking it often and stirring with a wooden spoon to stop the seeds burning. Once browned tip seeds out of the pan onto a plate to cool

5. Now add the pan back to the medium/low heat and add in all the other Relajo ingredients (except the chopped dry chilli) and toast together pushing with the wooden spoon to ensure even toasting and no burning.

Important note: we don‘t add chilli in at this point because toasting dry chilli can create spicy vapours in the air that are painful if breathed in!!

6. Once the ingredients are toasted tip them out of the pan onto a plate to cool

7. To complete the Relajo Spice Mix combine the toasted seeds with the toasted herbs and spices and the chopped dry chilli and use a mortar and pestle or a spice processor to crush all the ingredients to a powder.

8. Now we begin preparing the chicken

9. Season the chicken with salt

10. Pour the olive oil into a heavy-based Dutch oven or similar type of pot

11. Heat the pot on top of the stove to medium and add the chicken pieces, browning them on both sides (about 5 mins per side).

Note: If your pot is not wide enough to take all the chicken pieces at one time you can brown them in 2 batches

12. When the chicken pieces are browned, pull the pot off the heat while you take the chicken out and put them aside in a dish that can catch any juice they release. This will stop the pot from burning and ruining the sauce

13. Now you are ready to begin the sauce

14. put the pot back on the stove top, heat it to medium and add the onion, garlic, bell pepper and tomato and cook for 3-5 mins stirring often

15. Add the potatoes to the pot and stir in the Relajo Spice Mix, stirring everything together well and cook for a further 3 mins

16. Take the pot off the stove for a few minutes again to snuggle the browned chicken pieces into the sauce and stir in any juice the chicken has released whilst it’s been resting

17. Bring the pot up to the boil then turn it down to a very low simmer, put a lid on the pot and let it bubble stirring occasionally for 20 mins

18. Whilst the pot is simmering mix the toasted corn flour with the cooled chicken stock and stir until the corn flour has dissolved into the stock

19. Now take a large clean pot and pour everything from the chicken pot into it then stir in the cornflour stock, combining all the ingredients well

20. Place the pot on a medium heat and bring it up to a simmer

21. Simmer the pot with the lid off for 20 mins stirring and scrapping the bottom of the pot every 4-5 mins to stop the bottom from burning

22. The Pollo is now ready to serve, but if you need more time before bringing the chicken to the table just pop a lid on and let it rest

CASAMIENTO RICE

Casamiento means marriage in Spanish, and this recipe ‘marries’ two El Salvadorian culinary staples, Carrot Rice and Refried Beans, together under a veil of white cheese. There is a lot to love about this culinary combination.

Ingredients:

For Carrot Rice:

· 1 cup Basmati rice

· 2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

· 1/2 tsp salt

· 1 medium/largish carrot, peeled and grated

· Spice option: if you like it hot pop in a few whole chilli

For Refried Beans:

· 2 x 400gm tins red beans/black beans, drained (replace with adzuki/pinto)

· 1 tbs olive oil

· 1 medium brown onion, peeled and diced finely

· 1/2 green pepper (capsicum), deseeded and diced

· 1 fresh tomato, cored and chopped finely

· 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

· 1 tsp salt

· fresh cracked black pepper to taste

For Cheese Topping:

· 1/2 cup crumbled quesco fresco/quesco blanc cheese: or replace with crumbled Greek-style fetta, aged goats cheese or strained ricotta

Method:

1. Begin by starting to cook the rice

2. Combine the rice, stock, grated carrot, (chilli if using it) and salt in a medium/large pot (that has a tight-fitting lid)

1. Bring the pot to the boil stirring often and scrapping the bottom of the pot with a wooden/bamboo spoon to stop rice from sticking to the pot bottom

2. Once the stock is boiling give it a last stir and bottom scrap then turn the heat down to low, put a lid on the pot and cook for 10 minutes on very low

3. After 10 mins turn the heat off from under the pot (don’t remove the lid), and leave the pot to sit on the cooling element for another 10 minutes

4. Once the heat is turned off the rice (after 10 mins) begin making the beans

5. Use a potato masher to smash/mash the beans into a semi-smooth paste

6. Heat the oil in a fresh medium/large sized pot and sauté the diced onions on low heat until translucent and just beginning to brown (about 5 mins)

7. Add the garlic, salt, pepper and capsicum to the onion pot and sauté briefly

8. Then add in the diced tomato and sauté 5 mins

9. Add the mashed beans and sauté for about 5 mins then turn off the heat

10. Now the rice and beans are both ready for their ‘marriage’

11. Remove the lid from the rice pot and fluff the rice well with a fork

12. Begin folding portions of bean mix (around 1/2 a cup at a time) into the rice with a wooden spoon. When the rice and beans are combined add another portion of beans.

13. Keep doing this until all the rice and beans are mixed well together

14. Serve topped with the crumbled cheese

TIP:

If you want your marriage rice to be in a round shape on the plate, or even a square, it is easy to do. Just choose a cup/container the shape/size you want your rice to lo like on the plate. Dip the container in hot water, don’t dry it, just shake off any excess water, then pack the rice into the container with a spoon and press the rice in a little with the back of the spoon. After that turn the container upside down onto the plate and give the container a little shake/pat and your shaped rice should drop right onto the plate.

CURTIDO PICKLED SLAW

Ingredients:

· 1/4 cabbage, leaves de-cored and finely shredded

· 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

· 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut in julienne (match-stick shape)

· 1 large garlic clove, peeled and sliced very thinly

· 1 jalapeño or several small red chillies, finely sliced (optional)

· 3 x 6 cm sprigs fresh oregano

· I cup white vinegar

· 1 heaped tbs sugar

· 1 tsp cumin seeds

· 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Take a heat proof jar or container large enough to take all the ingredients

2. Put the sliced cabbage, onion, carrot, garlic and chilli along with the fresh oregano into the jar and mix well together

3. Combine the vinegar, sugar, cumin seeds and salt in a medium size pot

4. Gently heat the pot on the stove-top, stirring the ingredients together

5. Once the pot has come to the boil and the sugar is dissolved pour the hot liquid over the vegetables in the jar and cover the jar with a cloth to cool

6. When the mixture is cool, cover it and refrigerate, then serve it cold

These are all Q-ZINE original recipes informed by multiple sources including but not limited to:

https://everythingelsalvador.com/best-food-el-salvador/

https://whimsyandspice.com/salvadoran-foods-and-recipes/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/salvadoran-food-karla-tatiana-vasquez_l_662aac18e4b09d8df9d5e804

https://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-nixtamalization-23509956

https://armour.wustl.edu/2024/06/05/spice-mix/#:~:text=With%20ingredients%20such%20as%20cinnamon,that%20makes%20these%20dishes%20Salvadoran.

https://togetherwomenrise.org/customsandcuisine/customs-and-cuisine-of-el-salvador/

https://salvisoul.com/recipes/alguashte-pumpkin-seed-seasoningGrilled Corn

https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/side/side-rice-side/salvadorian-carrot-rice.html