Chicken Mole Verde Recipes

MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• First things first, get all of those vegetables chopped and your other ingredients ready to go before you begin! The timing of adding each ingredient is important so you don't want to burn your onions while you're trying to chop the broccoli, okay?!
• Okay, grab an 8-quart pot, add the tablespoon of oil and set on a medium-high burner. Once the oil is hot but not smoking add the onions and potatoes. You want to cook the onions til they just start getting a bit of color. Keep stirring them with a wooden spoon. Bonus points if you have a flat bottom wooden spoon! When the onions are ready, add the sage leaves, bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir all that up real good and saute until you can really smell the sage and garlic, 1 to 2 minutes. Now add the water, scrape the bottom of the pot with your spoon to get up all those good bits and bring this up to a boil. Let this boil until your potatoes are soft, about 5 minutes.
• While you wait for the potatoes to get soft you want to set up your blender and a fine mesh strainer over another pot, bowl or container that you'll strain the sauce into.
• When the potatoes are soft, you'll add the Anaheim peppers and broccoli to the pot and stir to combine. Cook until the broccoli stems are just soft, aka al dente. This is a key step so don't get distracted! Put your phone in another room and focus on the vegetables! You want your sauce to be bright green so pay attention. As soon as the broccoli is ready, kill the heat on the pot and add the parsley and sunflower seeds and give it a good stir. Immediately take your pot to where you're going to blend the sauce. Blend the mole in two or three batches, depending on the size of your blender. Remember that your mole is piping hot so make sure to start your blender on low and increase the speed slowly, unless you want mole on your ceiling. As you increase the speed, reserve enough of the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil for each successive batch add the oil to the blender. Let the mole blend on high for about a minute until it's really well blended. As you work each batch you may want to adjust the amount of liquid in the blender. If it seems too thin, then don't add as much of the cooking liquid on the next batch and vice versa. Think rich, silky potato soup you could scoop up with a tortilla.
• Strain each batch through your strainer. You can use a ladle to help push the mole through the strainer and speed things up a bit. After you have blended up and strained all the mole, whisk it together so the final sauce is consistent throughout.
• At this point the mole is ready to serve. If you're making ahead of time, try and get the mole into an airtight container and cooling in the fridge as quickly as possible to keep that bright green color. You can also freeze the mole for that dinner party you're having in a month.

CHICKEN MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• For the chicken: Put the chicken parts in a large pot and add enough water to cover the meat by 2 inches. Add the onion, garlic, and salt. Bring to a simmer over high heat, skimming off any foam, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the meat begins to pull away from the drumstick and the thigh joint feels loose, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the broth, then strain and reserve the broth and chicken separately.
• For the mole: Toast the sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds together in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until the sesame seeds are golden brown and the pumpkin seeds have started to darken and pop, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add the 1/4 cup oil to the skillet and return to medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the peanuts until golden, about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, transfer the peanuts to the bowl with the seeds, leaving the oil behind. Add the ginger, allspice, and cloves to the seed mixture.
• In the same skillet, in the oil remaining, fry the plantain over medium heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes, then set the plantain aside. Add the serrano and poblano chiles, the onion, and the whole garlic cloves and fry until the chiles blister all over and the onion and garlic char in spots, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside. Add the tomatillos to the same skillet and cook, turning, until they char and blister in spots, about 5 minutes. Set them aside.
• Toast the tortilla directly over a gas flame or under a broiler until it blackens in spots and becomes crisp, about 1 minute. Let cool, then tear into pieces.
• Put the seed mixture in a blender and blend on high speed, adding enough of the chicken broth-about 1 cup-to make a paste that is as smooth as possible. Transfer to a small bowl.
• Working in batches, put the tomatillos, plantain, chiles, onion, garlic, tortilla pieces, chopped lettuce, 1 cup cilantro, and the avocado in the blender and puree until smooth. (Put the tomatillos in first to have enough liquid to engage the blender.) Transfer to a bowl.
• Put any leftover frying oil in a large pot and add enough additional vegetable oil to make 2 tablespoons. Set over medium heat and add the seed paste. Cook, stirring, until the paste becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatillo puree and bring to a simmer. Add 5 cups of the reserved chicken broth and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/4 hours to develop flavor. Add the sugar and season with salt. Remove half the sauce (about 5 cups) and freeze for later use.
• Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise. Cut the leg-thigh quarters in half at the joint. You should have 12 pieces. Place the chicken parts in the mole and simmer until hot throughout. Thin with more chicken broth if desired.
• Divide the mole and chicken among 6 warm bowls or plates. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc or another crisp and herbaceous white wine.