Chicken in Spiced Chocolate Mole — Mole Poblano de Pollo
Pueblan stew of chicken thigh poached then bathed in a deeply-built mole of dried chiles, nuts, seeds, spices, dried fruit, and Mexican chocolate, finished with sesame seeds, served with rice.
Mexican
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Stem and seed ancho, mulato, and pasilla chiles. Chop tomato and mole onion roughly. Smash 6 garlic cloves for poaching, peel 4 for mole. Tear stale tortilla into pieces. Chop Mexican chocolate. Slice white onion into rings. Cook rice separately.
Simmer
Place chicken thighs in a large saucepan with salt, poaching onion, 6 garlic cloves, and bay leaves. Cover with 1.5 liters water. Simmer over medium-low covered 25 minutes until opaque and pulling from bone. Strain and reserve 1 liter broth.
Toast 1
Toast dried chiles in a dry pan over medium 30 seconds per side until pliable. Soak in hot water 10 minutes. While soaking, toast almonds, peanuts, sesame, and pumpkin seeds in dry pan over medium 3-4 minutes until pale golden. Add cinnamon, cloves, anise, and pepper for last 30 seconds.
Char
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high 1 minute. Char tomato, mole onion, and 4 garlic cloves 4-5 minutes turning often. Add raisins and torn tortilla, cook 2 minutes until tortilla absorbs oil.
Build
Drain chiles. Blend chiles, toasted seeds, charred aromatics, raisins, tortilla, and 1/2 cup soaking liquid until very smooth, scraping sides. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium-high 1 minute. Strain mole into oil, cook 7 minutes stirring constantly until deep mahogany and oil separates at edges.
Simmer 2
Strain 1 cup reserved broth into mole. Add chopped chocolate and salt to taste. Simmer over medium-low 12-14 minutes until mole coats a spoon richly and tastes balanced. Add poached chicken, warm 4-5 minutes.
Plate
Serve chicken thighs ladled with mole over rice. Scatter with toasted sesame seeds and onion rings. Accompany with warm corn tortillas.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.