Main dish • Savoury
Nataliya’s Chicken with Mole
Front-End Developer
I love this dish because every other year I head to Mexico with my partner to spend the winter holidays with his family in Guanajuato. I fell in love with mole sauce – it’s spicy, somewhat chocolatey and totally mouth-watering. This sauce, and this dish, goes hand-in-hand with celebrations, and it’s a go-to for any important feast. One of my favourite Mexican dishes by far!
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 whole chicken (5 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ white onion
- 2 sprigs parsley or cilantro
- 8 cups water
- Salt to taste
Mole
- 1 large dried ancho chile
- ½ plantain
- 5 ounces Roma tomatoes
- ½ white onion, cut into thick slices
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 to 5 cups chicken broth
- 8 animal crackers or saltines
- 3 tablespoons peanuts, toasted
- 1 jar (8.25 ounces) Doña Maria Mole or La Costeña Mole paste
- ½ tablet Mexican chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita brand)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground anise seed
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
Step 1
Place the chicken pieces in a stockpot with the garlic, onion, celery stick (cut into 2 to 3 pieces) and parsley (or cilantro). Cover with water.
Step 2
Place the pot over medium-high heat, and once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 35 to 45 minutes, until the chicken meat is cooked and tender. Season with salt and set aside. This chicken broth is what we will use to dilute the Mole paste.
Step 1
While the chicken is cooking, slice the plantain. Fry until golden and set aside.
Step 2
In the same pan, sauté the onion and garlic for a minute. Clean out the ancho chile of seeds and add to the onions and garlic. Sauté for no more than 1 minute.
Step 3
Quarter the tomatoes and add to the pan with the ancho chile, onions and garlic. Cover until the tomatoes are cooked.
Step 4
Place the cooked tomatoes, onion, garlic, ancho chile, peanuts, animal crackers, plantain, anise, and cinnamon in your blender. Process until you have a fine sauce, then set aside. If it’s too thick to blend, add broth.
Step 5
Place a large pot over low heat and add the jar of mole paste, the tomato sauce and a cup of the chicken broth to start diluting the paste. (You’ll need to use a bottle opener to open the jar of mole.)
Step 6
Add chocolate and stir well until the mole paste has completely dissolved. Add more broth as needed, since the paste will get thicker as it continues cooking. Season with salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly.
Step 7
Some people like their sauce thicker than others. Regulate the amount of chicken broth used in order to achieve the thickness you like. Traditional mole sauce has the consistency of a thick gravy.
Step 8
Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and slowly simmer for about 10 more minutes.
Step 9
Serve with rice and warm corn tortillas. Garnish with sesame seeds.
