THE FIRST DISH

Pollo Guisado, AKA Chicken Stew. This was the first dish. Two weekend prior, I had called my Aunt Sarah for the first time ever. Due to COVID, I still haven’t met her in person, but once it’s safe to do so, it will be the first thing I do. My titi is the only person I have contact with that cooks Puerto Rican dishes. She is also the only person who learned how to cook grandma’s dishes.

As the potatoes cook in the stew, the sauce thickens beautifully.

When I stooped over my stainless steel pot, I was intimidated. The stews I knew were beef and didn’t have so much liquid in them. I was so afraid I had messed up the dish and tarnished my grandmother’s recipe that I almost didn’t even try.

But I knew I had to at least try. After all, these recipes are the only tangible thing I could have of my grandmother.

The recipe requires sofrito, a paste of bell peppers, tomatoes, and other herbs and spices. This is most of the dish, along with some sazon packets, adobo seasoning, potatoes, carrots, and some form of chicken. The spices and pastes are items I had never cooked with before, and they were items I had to have shipped to me from Florida and Texas due to their nonpresence in my area.

A finished Pollo Guisado with basmati rice and avocado slices sprinkled with smoked paprika.

The picture above was my first try making it. I was told later that I didn’t have the best avocadoes, but I guess I’ll have to save that experience for my future visit to my Aunt’s.

This dish, I can’t describe it. When it settles in your stomach, it feels like a warm blanket has been wrapped around you. It feels like safety and nurturing and love.

I don’t know if it’s the recipe, or if it’s my grandma’s way of telling me “Good job, neita” each time I attempt to recreate this little piece of home.

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