Chicken Pimiento

This is my most favourite dish from my childhood. I don't know the origins of this dish, but if I remember correctly, it came from one of those Filipino cooking shows on TV in the early 80s; can't remember anymore. Back then, I was always tasked by my Mom to write down recipes from cooking shows on TV and this was one of them.

The original recipe featured quezo de bola, a sharp, salty cheese we have in the Philippines, shaped like a ball, and coated by red wax, usually eaten during Christmas and New Year's Eve. But I've always found that too salty and when I started cooking this for my own family, I replaced it with just plain cheddar cheese and made the sauce creamier. It's the absolute comfort food for me and my kids!

CHICKEN PIMIENTO

900 grams chicken thighs, with or without skin
1 green bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper, diced into small 1/2 cm squares
1 knob of butter
3 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 chicken bouillon
Dash of freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon of cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup milk

Procedure:

1.  Heat some oil and add the butter. Panfry the chicken thighs until they are slightly brown. Set aside.

2. In the same pan, sauté the peppers until half cooked. Add more oil if it's dry. Don't overcook; they should still be bright red and green. Set aside.

3.  Deglaze the same pan by adding the milk. Use a wire whisk so you can pry those bits of goodness stuck at the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken bouillon and nutmeg; keep mixing with the wire whisk. Add the dissolved cornstarch and mix vigorously, until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has simmered, turn off the fire.

4.  Assemble the chicken pieces in a baking dish. Pour over the milk mixture.  Top with the grated cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake in an oven preheated to 350F for about 20 minutes or until you see the sauce boiling.  Remove the foil and bake for 5 to 7 minutes more until the cheese is melted and brown. Serve with hot, steaming rice. Mmmmm! Perfect for a rainy day, or just those days when you're extremely hungry. The perfect comfort food.