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.
