Many thanks to our friend Fernanda for inventing this dish and posting it online. Pam's response as soon as she saw a photo of Fernanda's invention was "James, we're making this!" Fortunately, we had all of the ingredients on hand, except a butternut squash. Here is how I proceeded, modifying our friend's recipe only slightly.
I began by hacking apart a large butternut squash -- I think we're a bit out of season, so it was harder than I remember in the past -- and cubing it. I then sauteed onion and garlic in some olive oil until translucent and added the squash. I continued on medium-high heat until all was fairly soft.
Meanwhile, I cut a package of
Free Bird chicken breasts into big chunks, 3 or 4 per piece. I browned these in a large pan, adding a little salt and a half a package of chipotle rub from the inimitable
Salem Spice.
At this point, the whole house was already smelling delicious! I poured the vegetables into the pan with the chicken and added about 2 cups of low-sodium, free-range chicken broth. I covered and simmered for about 15 minutes, and then continued simmering uncovered until the broth had reduced. The result was not as photogenic as what Fernanda had posted, but it was delicious, more like a stew, perhaps because I had gone farther in softening the squash.
We garnished with cilantro and enjoyed this, paired with tap water (we had Malbecked for lunch) and found it to be delicious! The sauce was more like a gravy, though it had no flour in it. We will definitely be repeating Pollo la Fernanda!
Lagniappe
Fernanda's more visually appealing original version, ready for a cookbook cover.
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