Mexico · Mexican cuisine of Puebla
Mole poblano with chicken
Tender chicken in a deep, glossy, mahogany sauce of three dried chiles, toasted nuts and seeds, warm spices and a little chocolate, balanced between smoky, nutty and faintly sweet, scattered with toasted sesame seeds.
Cookhuddle Editorial Cookhuddle | Mexico
Editorial selection: recipes cross-checked against several documentary sources. They have not been tested in our kitchen: follow the precautions given and adapt times to your own oven.
translation Translated from Spanish. Translation by Cookhuddle Editorial. Read the original
Read this recipe inespañol · originalfrançais · translationEnglish · translation
- Servings
- 8
- Preparation
- 25 min
- Cooking
- 120 min
- Total
- 145 min
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Cuisine / tradition: Mexican cuisine of Puebla (MX) — declared by the author
- Main dish
- Celebration
Ingredients
For 8 servings
- 2 kg chicken pieces (thighs and legs)
- 2 l water, for poaching the chicken
- 1/4 piece onion, for the broth
- 2 clove garlic cloves, for the broth
- 6 piece dried mulato chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 6 piece dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 4 piece dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 50 g sesame seeds, plus 1 tablespoon to garnish
- 50 g almonds
- 50 g peanuts
- 30 g raisins
- 3 piece large ripe tomatoes
- 2 piece green tomatoes (tomatillos)
- 1/2 piece onion
- 4 clove garlic cloves
- 1 piece cinnamon stick
- 3 piece cloves
- 4 piece allspice berries
- 5 piece black peppercorns
- 1 tsp anise seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 piece corn tortillas
- 1 slice bolillo or baguette, 2 cm thick
- 60 g Mexican table chocolate
- 4 tbsp lard or vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste
Method
- Step 1. Put the chicken in a large pot with the water, the quarter onion, the 2 garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer for 35 minutes, until cooked. Check with a food thermometer: the thickest piece of chicken must reach at least 74 °C (165 °F) at the centre, without touching the bone. If it has not reached that temperature, keep cooking and check again. Lift out the chicken and keep it warm; keep the broth.⏱ 35 min
- Step 2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the lard in a wide pot. Fry the chiles lightly, a few at a time, for 20 to 30 seconds without burning them. Soak them in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain.⏱ 20 min
- Step 3. In a dry pan toast the sesame seeds (keep 1 tablespoon for the garnish), the almonds, the peanuts and the raisins separately for 3 to 5 minutes. Fry the tortillas and the bread until golden. Roast the tomatoes, green tomatoes, onion and garlic on a dry pan for 10 minutes. Toast the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, peppercorns, anise and cumin for 1 minute.⏱ 5 min
- Step 4. Blend the soaked chiles with 250 ml of broth until smooth. In a second batch, blend the nuts, seeds, raisins, bread, tortillas, spices and roasted vegetables with 250 ml of broth. Combine the two purées.
- Step 5. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of lard in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat. Pour in the mole and fry for 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens and thickens. Gradually add 750 ml of broth.⏱ 10 min
- Step 6. Add the chocolate and the sugar. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, stirring often, until the mole is thick and glossy, adding more broth if it becomes too dense. Season with salt.⏱ 40 min
- Step 7. Add the chicken to the mole and heat through for 10 minutes. Serve with the toasted sesame seeds scattered over the top, with red rice or tortillas.⏱ 10 min
Story and cultural note
Mole poblano is the mole of Puebla. The word comes from the Nahuatl molli, a sauce or mixture, and the dish grew over centuries from a pre-Hispanic chile sauce, with Asian spices arriving through the Manila galleon and European ingredients added in the viceregal convents. The popular stories of its invention by a nun at the Convent of Santa Rosa in 1681 or for the bishop Palafox are considered by the historians cited to have no historical rigour; the earliest ancestor of the present recipe is in the Recetario Novohispano of 1791. Turkey (guajolote) was the original meat; chicken and pork came later. Not every community uses chocolate.
Tips for success
Fry the chiles only for seconds: burnt chiles make the mole bitter. Toast the nuts, seeds and spices separately until fragrant. Fry the purée and stir without stopping so that it does not catch. Cook it slowly for the full 40 minutes: the mole improves as it thickens and is even better the next day.
Serving and presentation
Serve the chicken in a deep plate, coated generously with mole and scattered with toasted sesame seeds, with red rice, warm tortillas and a glass of water or beer.
Diet and allergens
Information declared by the author. CookHuddle does not verify or certify it. If you have an allergy, check the ingredients yourself.
DietEgg-free
ContainsPeanutsTree nutsSesameGluten (cereals)
May contain traces ofMilkSulphites
