Chicken In Pipian Sauce A Traditional Mexican Recipes

POLLO EN PIPIAN (CHICKEN IN PIPIAN SAUCE)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine chicken, water, celery, bay leaf, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is cooked through and tender. Strain, reserving the broth. Skin and bone the chicken; set the meat aside.
• Toast the sesame seeds lightly in a skillet, stirring constantly, until they are fragrant. In a food processor or blender, puree the sesame seeds and almonds with1 cup of the reserved chicken broth.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the blended sesame seed and almond mixture, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in 1 to 2 cups reserved chicken broth and chicken bouillon. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped peppers, olives, capers, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes, and serve hot.

CHICKEN IN PIPIAN SAUCE (A TRADITIONAL MEXICAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• Cook the chicken with the water, vegetables and seasonings in a large saucepan until tender.
• Strain, reserving the broth.
• Skin and bone the chicken, and set aside.
• To make the sauce, toast the sesame seeds lightly in a skillet, stirring constantly, until they are fragrant.
• Puree the sesame seeds with the almonds and 2 cups of the chicken broth.
• Heat oil or lard in a skillet, add the blended sesame-seed-almond mixture, and cook for 5 to 8 min., until thickened.
• Add 2 to 3 more cups of the broth and chicken bouillon and simmer for 5 more minutes.
• Add the chiles, olives, capers and chicken.
• Simmer for 10 minutes, and serve hot.

CHICKEN IN RED SESAME SEED SAUCE: PIPIAN ROJO DEL NORTE

Steps:

• Stem and seed the chiles, reserving 1 tablespoon of the seeds, or more to taste.
• Toast the chiles in a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Transfer the chiles to a bowl, cover with hot tap water, and soak for 20 minutes. Drain.
• Meanwhile, toast the chile seeds in the skillet. In a clean coffee or spice grinder, finely grind the chile seeds, sesame seeds, peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon.
• In a blender, combine the chiles, ground spices, 1/2 cup chicken broth, and garlic and blend.
• Heat the lard in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour in the blended sauce and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom, until somewhat reduced, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 3 cups chicken broth, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. (The sauce may be prepared up to 3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.)
• Preheat a grill or grill pan. Lightly brush the chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken, turning to make cross-hatched marks, until just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Slice the chicken and transfer to a platter.
• Reheat the sauce and stir in the avocado leaf. Ladle the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and garnish with herb leaves. Serve with corn tortillas.
• Serving Suggestion: Warm corn tortillas.

PIPIáN

Steps:

• If the pumpkin seeds you have are already toasted, proceed to step 2. Otherwise, heat 3 tablespoons of the lard in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. A minute later, add the pumpkin seeds and cook, shaking and stirring the pan constantly for a minute or two, until the seeds start to puff. (Take care not to overcook the seeds, which will make the sauce bitter; and be prepared for flying seeds popping out of the pan.) Remove the toasted seeds with a slotted spoon and cool. (Discard any blackened seeds.) Meanwhile, warm the stock and soak the chiles in it. When they have softened, after 10 to 15 minutes, remove their stems and seeds; reserve the soaking liquid.
• Put the seeds in a food processor and process until pasty, stopping the machine and scraping down the sides if necessary. Add the garlic, chiles, and as much of the soaking liquid as you need to process until quite smooth.
• Turn the heat under the pan back to medium and add the remaining lard or oil. Reheat the sauce with enough liquid to thin to a pleasing consistency, stirring occasionally, until it just boils and thickens slightly. Remove from the heat. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed, then stir in the lime juice; serve hot or at room temperature. (This keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days; bring back to room temperature or reheat before serving and always add the lime juice at the last minute.)
• In step 2, add 2 tomatoes (preferably peeled and seeded) and 2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled, to the mix; you will need less of the reserved liquid.
• Omit the lard and toast the pumpkin seeds as you would sesame seeds (page 596). Omit the ancho chiles and puree the toasted seeds with chile powder to taste (about 1 tablespoon), at least 1/4 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 160), or water, and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat and add the lime juice.

GREEN PIPIAN

Steps:

• Heat a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Wait until you hear one pop, then stir constantly until they have puffed and popped, and smell toasty. They should not get any darker than golden or they will taste bitter. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
• Place the cooled pumpkin seeds in a blender and add the tomatillos, chiles, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Cover the blender and blend the mixture until smooth, stopping the blender to stir if necessary.
• Heat the oil in the Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a bit of the pumpkin seed mixture and if it sizzles, add the rest. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens and thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. It will splutter, so be careful. Hold the lid of the pot above the pot to shield you and your stove from the splutters. Add the remaining chicken stock, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. For a silkier sauce, blend again in batches.