Pollo en Mole

Pollo en mole

Chicken in black mole sauce

Mole derives from the word molli, which means “sauce” in Nahuatl. It is a generic name for a wide variety of sauces; however, a common ingredient in all of them is chili peppers. Mole poblano (from Puebla) is the best known and widely considered one of Mexico’s national dishes. For Christmas or special occasions such as weddings or baptisms, mole is served over turkey or other meats like chicken or pork. Recipe Servings: Serves 4

Prep Time

15 minutes
+ 30 minutes resting

Cook Time

1 hour 35 minutes

Total Time

2 hours 20 minutes

Vegetarian

Vegan

Gluten Free

Dairy Free

Kosher

Halal

Ingredients

1 chicken (around 4 lbs/2 kg), cut into pieces
5 black peppercorns
Kosher salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) sesame seeds
5 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp (5 ml) anise seeds
1/4 tsp (2.5 ml) coriander seeds
6 dried guajillo chile peppers
4 dried ancho chile peppers
6 Tbsp (90 ml) canola oil
1/4 cup (60 ml) raisins
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole blanched almonds
1/4 cup hulled pumpkin seeds
2 6-in (2.5-cm) corn tortillas, torn into pieces
1 2.7-oz (76-g) disk mexican chocolate, broken into pieces
Pinch of sugar

Directions

In a large pot, place the chicken and the peppercorns. Cover with water and add salt.
Simmer for about 40 minutes. When the chicken is tender, put the chicken on a plate and set aside the cooking liquid.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet, over medium heat, until golden, for about 5 minutes.
Toast the cloves, cinnamon stick, anise, and coriander seeds for about 3 minutes. Put them in a blender.
Set aside 2 tbsp (30 ml) of the sesame seeds for garnish and transfer the rest to the blender.
Make sure to remove all stems and seeds from the dried chile peppers.
In the same skillet used before, heat 4 tbsp (60 ml) canola oil, over medium heat. Fry the chiles for about 2 minutes.
Put the chiles in a medium bowl and soak for about 30 minutes.
In the skillet now put the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and tortilla pieces. Cook and stir until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Add this and the remaining oil in the skillet to the blender. Add the softened chiles and 2 to 3 cups of the soaking liquid. Puree.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, put the remaining oil. Add the chile sauce and stir until thick, about 20 minutes.
Add the chocolate. Simmer and stir, for about 20 minutes, until the chocolate melts.
Add the sugar and salt to taste.
To heat up the chicken pieces, add them to the sauce, over low heat.
Garnish with the sesame seeds set aside.