Mole Poblano

Ingredients (Simplified Version - complex traditional recipes vary greatly)

• For the Chicken:
  • 1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs), cut into serving pieces
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Salt
• For the Mole Sauce:
  • 4 dried Ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded
  • 2 dried Pasilla chilies, stemmed and seeded
  • 2 dried Mulato chilies, stemmed and seeded
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds (plus more for garnish)
  • 1/4 cup almonds or peanuts
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 Roma tomato, chopped
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground anise seed
  • 1 oz Mexican chocolate (like Ibarra or Abuelita), chopped
  • 1 slice stale bread or 1 corn tortilla, torn
  • 2 tbsp raisins
  • 4-5 cups chicken broth (reserved from cooking chicken)
  • Salt to taste
  • Sugar to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook Chicken: Place chicken pieces, quartered onion, garlic cloves, and salt in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 30-40 minutes). Reserve the broth and set chicken aside.
2. Prepare Chilies: Briefly toast dried chilies in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant (about 30 seconds per side). Be careful not to burn them. Soak toasted chilies in hot water or reserved hot chicken broth for 20-30 minutes until softened.
3. Toast Seeds/Nuts: Toast sesame seeds in the dry skillet until golden. Set aside. Toast almonds/peanuts similarly.
4. Sauté Aromatics: Heat oil/lard in the skillet. Sauté chopped onion and garlic until softened. Add tomato and cook until softened.
5. Blend Sauce: Drain soaked chilies (reserve liquid). Combine chilies, toasted nuts (reserve some sesame seeds for garnish), sautéed onion/garlic/tomato mixture, spices (cinnamon, cloves, anise), chocolate, bread/tortilla, and raisins in a blender. Add about 1-2 cups of reserved chicken broth and blend until very smooth. Add more broth as needed to facilitate blending. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot for a smoother sauce (optional but recommended).
6. Simmer Mole: Bring the blended sauce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for at least 20-30 minutes (longer is better for flavor development), adding more chicken broth as needed to reach a desired consistency (like thick gravy). Season with salt and a pinch of sugar if needed to balance flavors.
7. Combine & Serve: Add the cooked chicken pieces to the simmering mole sauce and heat through. Serve mole-covered chicken warm, garnished with toasted sesame seeds, typically accompanied by rice.

Why It's Special

Mole Poblano is one of Mexico's most complex and celebrated national dishes, originating from Puebla. It's known for its intricate blend of numerous ingredients – including various chilies, spices, nuts, seeds, and often chocolate – creating a sauce with incredible depth and layers of flavor (sweet, savory, earthy, spicy). Making mole is often a labor-intensive process reserved for special occasions. It represents the rich culinary heritage and fusion of indigenous and European influences in Mexican cuisine.