White Chocolate Chicken Mole With Poblano Strips Recipes

MOLE POBLANO WITH CHICKEN WINGS

Steps:

• For the chiles: The day before making the mole, remove the stems and seeds from the chiles; rinse the chiles and pat dry. Heat the oil in a large skillet, then add the chiles (in batches if necessary) and fry until glossy, about 4 minutes. Drain and place in a Dutch oven. Cover with 10 cups hot water, then add the vinegar and let stand overnight, covered.
• The next day, drain the chiles, then pat dry and reserve the soaking liquid.
• For the mole sauce: Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
• Add the oil and chiles to a wok or a very large saute pan and turn the heat on medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated, remove the chiles to a plate, leaving the oil in the wok.
• Add the blanched almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, pepitas, black peppercorns, anise seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick to the wok and toss to combine and toast, about 2 minutes.
• Grill the tomatoes, corn tortillas, bolillo roll and onion until each are charred on both sides. Remove from the pan and add directly to the toasted spices. Add the cocoa nibs, raisins, Mexican chocolate, mint and parsley and stir to combine, allowing the chocolate to melt.
• Carefully add the wok ingredients to a blender and slowly blend. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed with salt.
• Pour the sauce into a medium saucepan along with the chicken stock and 1/2 cup reserved chile liquid and turn the heat to medium. Once at a simmer, adjust the seasoning with salt.
• For the wings: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil and place an oven-safe rack on top of the foil. Coat the rack with cooking spray.
• Place the chicken wings in a large bowl along with the oil, cumin and smoked paprika and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the wings until coated. Arrange the chicken wings in a single layer on the rack. Bake until crispy and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Place the wings in a very large bowl and cover with the mole sauce. Carefully toss until each wing is evenly coated.
• Add the wings to a platter and top with the parsley and pomegranate seeds.

CHICKEN IN MOLE, PUEBLA STYLE

Steps:

• In a large stock pot, parboil the chicken in water seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Drain, reserving cooking broth, and refrigerate until ready to assemble the dish.
• Prepare the Mole Poblano. Clean the chiles by removing stems, veins, and seeds; reserve 1 tablespoon of the seeds. Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a heavy skillet until it shimmers. Fry the chiles until crisp, about 10 to 15 seconds, turning once; make sure they do not burn. Drain on paper towels. Put the chiles in a nonreactive bowl, cover with hot water, and set aside for 30 minutes. Drain the chiles, reserving the soaking water. Puree the chiles in a blender with enough of the soaking water to make a smooth paste. It may be necessary to scrape down the sides and blend several times to obtain a smooth paste. In a heavy Dutch oven heat an additional 1/2 cup oil over medium heat and add the chile puree (be careful - it will splatter). Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Puree the tomatillos in a blender. In a coffee or spice grinder, grind the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, and toasted seeds. Add the seed mixture and the garlic to the pureed tomatillos and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat 6 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy frying pan. Fry each of the following ingredients and then remove with a slotted spoon: the raisins until they puff up; the almonds to a golden brown; the pumpkin seeds until they pop. If necessary, add enough oil to make 4 tablespoons and fry the tortilla pieces and bread slices until golden brown, about 15 seconds per side; remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon. Add raisins, almonds, pumpkins seeds, tortillas, and bread to the tomatillo puree and blend, using 1 to 2 cups of the reserved chicken broth, as needed, to make a smooth sauce. This may have to be done in batches. In a heavy Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the chile puree, the tomatillo puree, and the Mexican chocolate (be careful - it will splatter). Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Add the remaining 5 cups of chicken broth, cook over low heat for an additional 45 minutes, stirring often enough to prevent the mixture from scorching on the bottom. During the last 15 minutes of cooking time, add the parboiled chicken and heat through. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve with white rice.

CLASSIC MOLE POBLANO SAUCE WITH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine the chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the sesame seeds, almonds, tortilla, raisins, cloves, cinnamon, and coriander. Puree small amounts of this mixture in a blender until smooth. (I added a small of amount of water or rum each time to make it smooth.).
• Melt the shortening in a skillet and sauté the puree for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chicken broth and chocolate and cook over a very low heat for 45 minutes. The sauce should be very thick. The remaining sesame seeds are used as a garnish.
• Season chicken breasts to taste and grill over low heat for about 25 minutes or until desired doneness. Ladle mole sauce over each breast and scatter the tops with warm corn kernels. Garnish with cilantro leaves, thin slices of tomatillo.

CHICKEN MOLE POBLANO

Steps:

• For the mole: Tear the ancho, anaheim, and chipotle chiles into large pieces and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until they change color a bit, about 2 minutes. Put them into a bowl with the raisins and cover them with hot water. Soak unti softened, about 30 minutes. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the almonds, sesame seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, oregano, and thyme. Toast for 2 minutes, grind in a spice grinder, and add the powder to a blender. In the same skillet over medium-high heat add the olive oil, onions, garlic, and serrano. Cook until lightly browned, then add the tomatoes. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 10 to 15 minutes, then add to the blender. Add the chocolate and the soaked chiles and raisins to the blender along with some of the chile soaking liquid. Puree, adding more soaking liquid as needed, to make a smooth sauce. (This makes about 4 cups sauce, the recipe uses 2 cups, the extra can be frozen).
• Pour the lemon juice over the chicken and season it well with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet and brown the chicken on all sides; remove the browned chicken to a plate leaving the oil in the pan. Pour 2 cups of the mole sauce into the hot skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and return the chicken pieces to the pan. Simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the onion and radish slices into a bowl. Add the lime juice and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt. Mix well and serve with the chicken.
• Serve over cooked white rice with the onion and radish salad. Garnish everything with cilantro leaves.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHICKEN MOLE WITH POBLANO STRIPS

Steps:

• Blend water, 1/2 cup almonds, peanuts, serrano chiles, 1 poblano chile, onions and garlic in blender until smooth. Cut remaining poblano into strips.
• Cook chicken, in batches, in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 3 min. or until evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Return all chicken to skillet. Stir in poblano strips; cook and stir 1 min. Add sauce; simmer 15 min. on low heat, stirring constantly and adding chocolate for the last 3 min.
• Sprinkle with remaining almonds.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOLE SAUCE (MEXICAN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread peanuts, almonds and walnuts on a jelly-roll pan. Toast in the oven, shaking the pan occasionally, until the nuts are slightly colored and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.
• In a blender, combine the nuts, water, cinnamon stick and cloves; blend until nuts are very finely ground. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to release the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids.
• In the blender, combine the chiles, garlic, onion and nut liquid. Add the animal crackers; puree until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to release the liquid. Discard the solids.
• In a large saucepan, heat the butter. Stir in the nut-chile liquid. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is the consistency of thick pea soup, about 15 minutes.
• Stir in chocolate, salt and pepper until the chocolate is melted. Use immediately.

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH POBLANO CHILE STRIPS AND CREAM

Steps:

• Lay chiles on their sides on racks of gas burners, then turn flames on moderately high. Roast chiles, turning with tongs, until skins are blistered, 4 to 6 minutes. (Or broil chiles on rack of a broiler pan about 2 inches from heat, turning them, 8 to 10 minutes.) Transfer chiles immediately to a large sealable plastic bag and seal. Let steam 10 minutes, then peel or rub off skins and discard stems, seeds, and ribs. Rinse chiles and pat dry, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
• Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chicken, skin or skinned sides down, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and sauté 2 minutes more. Reduce heat to moderately low, then pour off excess fat and cook chicken, covered, until just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• While chicken is cooking, heat remaining tablespoon oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, then cook onion, stirring, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chiles and salt to taste and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add crème fraîche and cook, stirring, until just heated through (if using sour cream, do not let boil). Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Drizzle chicken with any pan juices and serve with sauce.