Chicken Mole

I started cooking Latino dishes soon after I returned from a vacation in Mexico five years ago.  It was during this trip that began my steamy love affair with the sweet and savory. When I returned home, anxious to duplicate the authentic meals I had savored and become accustomed to, I found some ingredients a little more than difficult to come across in and around Quebec.  Items like jicama, tomatillos, certain types of dried chilies, guava, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and Mexican chocolate. 

During the summer months I experiment with my own Mexican inspired recipes like quesadilla combos featuring peach, brie and mango.  More traditionally, I have been known to prepare such South American staples as tamales, (imagine that and I live in Quebec) anticuchos, (Peruvian beef kebabs) Bolivian meat pies (my first experience with yeast) and quinoa flan since these recipes do not require the items mentioned above.

Another interesting nugget of information I stored in my mind while abroad was the Mexican's observance of the deceased.  Although this tradition varies by region, the most common aspects include offering the spirits gifts of food and/or feasting on a picnic supper in the cemetery.  Traditionally,  two days of festivities are set aside as this is a day of celebration and not necessarily a day of mourning.  The first November 1, All Saints Day celebrates the passing of children while November 2 honours adults.

A few months back I passed by a small, dimly lit Latino grocers and vowed to return.  I kept my promise on Friday, when upon my third trip to the Italian grocers in a week's time I stopped if only to sate my curiosity.  There I lucked into a gold mine of all those precious items I had been reading about for so long but was unable to find. I attempted to speak a few words of Spanish to the shopkeeper but was returned by a friendly English reply.   Hint taken, I asked for his help and was enthusiastically ushered around the store.  A huge bulging bag of goods later, I came out excited to start on a chicken mole I had ear marked in a recipe book ages ago.  And what timing!  I prepared my meal to be eaten on November 1.  Surprisingly adapted from Frightfully Festive Halloween Recipes and Party Ideas, this recipe calls for both garlic cloves and whole cloves, my site, exactly:

Chicken Mole
Serves 6

3 small dried pastilla chilies, toasted, seeded, deviened, rinsed
3 small dried mulatto chilies, toasted, seeded, deviened, rinsed
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 piece cinnamon stick (about 1 inch)
3 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/8 teaspoon whole anise seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup whole unblanched almonds
1/4 cup raisins
6 whole chicken legs, thighs attached (about 3 pounds)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 ounces Mexican chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup chicken broth

Place pastilla and mulatto chilies in a medium bowl, cover with boiling water let stand for 1 hour
Toast sesame seeds inn dry heavy skillet over medium heat 2 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.  Remove from skillet.  Combine cloves, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and anise seeds in skillet; toast over medium heat 20 to 30 seconds until they start to change in colour and become fragrant, stirring frequently.  Remove from skillet.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until hot.  Add almonds.  Cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes until brown.  Remove with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.  Add raisins.  Cook and stir 30 seconds or until puffed.  Remove with slotted spoon.

Sprinkle chicken with salt.  Cook in same skillet over medium heat, 10 minutes or until browned, turning once.  Remove from plate.  Remove all but 2 tablespoons oil from skillet.

Place raisins in a food processor, process until finely ground.  Coarsely chop almonds; add to processor; process until finely ground.  Add onion and garlic; process until finely ground.

Process 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds with on/off pulses in an electric spice grinder to a fine powder; add to blender. 

Add chilies, 1/3 cup of the soaking water and the tomato paste to food processor, process until smooth.  If mixture is too thick, add just enough of the remaining soaking water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until blade can spin.  Discard remaining water.

[Mole]

Reheat oil in skillet over medium heat until hot.  Reduce heat to medium low.  Add chili mixture.  Cook and stir 5 minutes.  Add chocolate; cook and stir 2 minutes or until melted.  Gradually sir in broth.  Cook and stir another 5 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until chicken is tender and juice run clear, turning chicken occasionally.  Sprinkle remaining sesame seeds over top of chicken just before serving.

[Chicken Mole]

Comments

[berlin]

Gut!

[Mel]

this is great Sarah!

[Mel]

this is great Sarah!

[David]

Nice looking mole! Looks delicious...

[Sara]

Wow, as much as I love chicken mole, I don't think I'll ever make it from scratch. So much work! Yours looks really great.

[Kalyn]

Yum. There is actually a very authentic Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake that is famous for their moles of all kinds. It's called the Red Iguama if you ever make it here. Your version looks wonderful.

[Ruth]

I fell in love with Chicken Mole when my husband and I were on our honeymoon in Cancun (15 years ago when there were hardly any resort hotels yet). My mouth waters every time I think about it so I definitely have to try this out. Only problem will be to find the Mexican chocolate. It really does make a difference.

Thanks so much for sharing

[LisaSD]

Bravo to you! I'm too intimidated to try a mole, but I'm interested...maybe in time.

I had to laugh about your "quesadilla combos featuring peach, brie and mango"--I just posted about that a few days ago. I'm with you on that combo!