Description
This Chicken Mole recipe has dried chili peppers, almonds, tomatoes, garlic, orange juice, tons of spices, and Mexican chocolate. The smooth and rich sauce is tossed with shredded chicken.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken:
- 1.5 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1.5 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
- salt & pepper to season
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 4 cups chicken stock
Mole Sauce:
- 5 dried pasilla chilis, seeds and stems removed
- 5 dried ancho chilis, seeds and stems removed
- 5 dried guajillo chilis, seeds and stems removed
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons cumin seed
- 2 teaspoons coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon anise seed
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tomatillos, roughly chopped
- 3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 oz. mexican chocolate or 90% dark chocolateÂ
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1/2 tablespoon of honey
Instructions
Cook the Chicken:
- Pat chicken dry. Season both sides of the chicken breast and chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
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Heat a large bottom skillet or dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add in the avocado oil. Working in batches, sauté the chicken on each side for 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and let chicken rest on a plate and repeat process until all chicken is cooked.Â
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Return all the chicken with its juices back to the skillet or Dutch oven. Add in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to low heat. Let chicken simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
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Carefully remove chicken and place in a clear bowl. Reserve the broth for later use. Using two forks shred the chicken.
Make the Mole:
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Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Working in two to three batches, add the peppers to the pan and dry roast for 1 to 2 minutes per side. Do not burn, they will get bitter. Remove from the skillet and let rest.
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Next add in almonds, sesame seed, whole cumin seed, whole coriander seed, whole anise seed and whole black peppercorns. Dry roast over medium heat until toasted and fragrant, shaking the skillet occasionally. Transfer to a bowl or plate; set aside.
- Heat a dutch oven to medium high heat. Add in avocado oil and onion. Saute until onions are slightly caramelized, about 7-8 minutes. Next add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, stirring the whole time.
- Add the toasted chili peppers to the dutch oven along with the toasted nuts, seeds, whole spices, tomatillos and roma tomatoes. Stir everything together and cook for 3-4 minutes – stirring occasionally.Â
- Now add in your raisins, orange juice, reserved chicken broth from the chicken we cooked earlier, cinnamon stick, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried oregano and salt. Stir everything together, cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are very soft, stirring occasionally.
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Remove the mole from the heat; stir in the chocolate and let stand 5 minutes or until melted.
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Transfer the mole mixture to a high powered blender (I use my Vitamix), add peanut butter and honey. Purée until smooth, leave a corner of the lid open and covered with a paper towel so steam can escape and it doesn’t explode. (NOTE: If you don’t have a high-powered blender you’ll want to strain your mole sauce through a fine mesh strainer.) Season with salt, pepper, and/or honey to taste. For a thinner sauce, add additional chicken broth or water.
Make the Chicken Mole:
- To the bowl filled with shredded chicken add 1/2 to 3/4 of the mole sauce. Using tongs or a wooden spoon, mix everything together until ever piece of shredded chicken is covered. Serve!
