braised chicken with chocolate mole
This mole sauce is of the Oaxacan variety, which means it originates from Oaxaca, Mexico, also known as the "Land of Seven Moles" of seven different colors. Use Mexican chocolate if you can find it; otherwise it's fine to use unsweetened baking chocolate.
Serves 4
- 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 8 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- One 14-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes, undrained (or use regular ¼ cup raisins
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup dark beer
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Two 1-ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate, rough chopped
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the onion, bell pepper, poblano pepper and garlic to the pan and sauté until softened, scraping up brown bits in the pan to help the vegetables caramelize. Add chili powder, cumin and cinnamon and cook 3 minutes longer, stirring often. Add tomatoes, raisins, chipotle peppers, broth, beer, peanut butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes, stirring often. Carefully transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor and add chocolate. Let cool a few minutes, then cover and blend until smooth. (Alternately, use an immersion blender.)
Transfer the chicken into Dutch oven and pour the mole over each piece. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over Spanish rice and garnish with sour cream and fresh cilantro, if desired.
Discover more Cinco De Mayo - Recipes
in the archived edition of our April 2013 email
Or get more recipe ideas and inspiration from our Pinterest Board - [ Cinco De Mayo ]
