Chicken mole poblano
Description
I have always had a problem with mole poblano, chilli and chocolate sauce, since I first tasted it in Mexico about 15 years ago and find it is often too sweet for my taste. Yet, I’m not unfamiliar with using chocolate in cooking, and a little in a rich red wine sauce works wonders. What I do like about mole poblano is the mixture of two dried chillies, mulato and pasilla, which gives the sauce a dark roasted fruitiness with just a hint of heat.
Ingredients
- 16 mulato or ancho chillies (about 200g/7oz), cleaned, seeds removed and retained
- 4 pasilla chillies, cleaned, seeds removed and retained
- 30g/1oz stale baguette or white bread (roughly 1 slice)
- 50g/1¾oz sesame seeds
- 120g/4½ oz blanched almonds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 6 black peppercorns
- 5cm/2in cinnamon stick
- 4 tbsp corn oil
- 1 small ripe plantain or unripe banana, peeled and thickly sliced
- 130g/4¾oz raisins or currants
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- pinch ground cloves
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock
- 100g/3½oz dark chocolate (70–85% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
- 4–5 skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- salt
- handful lettuce leaves
- 4 corn tortillas, warmed
Directions
- Toast the chillies in a frying pan on a high heat for about 20 seconds until fragrant but not burnt. Place them in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Place the same pan over a medium heat and toast the bread, 1 teaspoon of the reserved chilli seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, coriander seeds, peppercorns and cinnamon until fragrant but not burnt. Set them aside and blend to a powder when cool.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the corn oil in a separate pan and fry the plantain (or banana). Add the raisins (or currants), onions and garlic and fry until soft and sweet. Tip into a food processer with the drained chillies, powdered spices, cloves, oregano and 350ml/12fl oz of the chicken stock. Blend into a smooth sauce.
- Pour the sauce into a clean saucepan with the remaining stock and the chocolate. Heat through gently for 15–20 minutes until the chocolate has melted and the sauce resembles a thick dark ‘gravy’. Do not allow it to boil. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of water. Taste for seasoning and add a little salt if needed.
- Coat the chicken breasts with the remaining 2 tablespoons corn oil and season with salt. Place in a frying pan over a medium heat and brown on both sides. Reduce the heat and continue to cook for 10–15 minutes until cooked through and the juices run clear.
- Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until brown.
- Slice the chicken breasts diagonally and serve one breast per person, with the sauce spooned over. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
