Chicken Mole with Four Chiles

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Description

An authentic Mexican dish – chicken slow cooked in a delectable sauce of chiles with a rich, never overpowering, chocolate background. Wonderful served with warm corn tortillas, rice and beans. Plan to have quite a mess to clean up afterward!

Ingredients

  • 4 dried mulato chiles
  • 4 dried ancho chiles
  • 4 dried guajillo chiles
  • 4 dried pasilla chilies
  • 2 teaspoons lard, or more as needed
  • 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 (7 inch) flour tortilla
  • 2 (5 inch) corn tortillas
  • 1 plantain, peeled and chopped
  • ½ cup almonds
  • ½ cup peanuts
  • ⅛ cup sesame seeds
  • 1 (14 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1 tablet of Mexican chocolate, such as Abuelita or Ibarra
  • 1 whole chicken

Instructions

  1. Remove the stems
  2. veins and seeds from the chiles (you might want to wear gloves when you do this). Heat the lard in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chiles
  3. and cook and stir until the chiles are fragrant
  4. about 1 minute
  5. being careful not to burn them. Remove the chiles and place them in a large bowl.
  6. Stir in the onion and garlic
  7. and cook until the onion is soft and translucent
  8. about 5 minutes. Remove and add to the bowl with the chiles.
  9. Break the flour and corn tortillas into pieces
  10. and add them to the skillet. Toast on both sides
  11. turning often
  12. until golden brown
  13. about 3 minutes. Remove; add to the bowl.
  14. If needed
  15. melt a small amount of additional lard in the skillet. Add the plantain pieces to the skillet
  16. and cook and stir until lightly browned
  17. about 5 minutes. Remove plantain; add to the bowl.
  18. Stir the almonds and peanuts into the skillet
  19. and cook and stir until fragrant
  20. about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and continue cooking until sesame seeds are lightly browned
  21. 15-30 seconds. Remove; add to the bowl.
  22. Warm the tomatoes over medium heat in the skillet until heated through
  23. about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Break the chocolate into chunks and stir into the tomatoes until melted. Pour the chocolate and tomato mixture into the bowl with the chile mixture; stir to combine.
  24. Working in small batches
  25. puree the mixture in a blender until smooth
  26. adding a small amount of water if needed to make a smooth sauce.
  27. Place the chicken into a large Dutch oven; pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and simmer over medium low heat until the chicken falls off the bone
  28. 2-3 hours.

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 2 hrs 20 mins

Total Time: 3 hrs

Servings: 8

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