Mexican Chilli Chocolate Chicken Mole

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This Mexican chocolate mole sauce recipe is not a dessert dish – it’s spicy and served with chicken or turkey.

Ingredients
(Serves 6)

  • 1.5kg chicken pieces (or turkey)
  • 750ml chicken stock
  • 2 cloves garlic

Mole Sauce

  • 250g ripe tomatoes, roasted
  • 4 tablespoons flavourless oil
  • 50g dried mulatto chillies, seeds and membranes removed
  • 40g dried pasilla chillies, seeds and membranes removed
  • 60g dried ancho chillies, seeds and membranes removed
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 40g blanched almonds
  • 30g roasted peanuts
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 2 black peppercorns
  • 1/2 cinnamon stick
  • pinch ground aniseed
  • 30g raisins
  • 30g Mexican chocolate (or unsweetened dark chocolate), chopped
  • pinch sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Method

  1. In a saucepan, bring the chicken or turkey pieces to simmering point in the chicken stock, with the garlic, and poach gently until nearly tender. Lift the chicken or turkey out onto a plate and set aside. Keep the stock.
  2. To make the mole, discard the tomato skins and put the tomatoes in a blender and puree until smooth. Scrape into a bowl.
  3. Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan; add some of the oil and the 3 different chillies and saute for 1-2 minutes to bring out the flavours. Transfer the chillies to a bowl, cover them with hot water and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain the chillies and blend them to a puree.
  4. Add a little more oil to the pan, saute the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes and remove to a bowl. Saute the almonds until they begin to colour, add the peanuts, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and aniseed and saute for 3 minutes. Transfer to a blender with the onion, garlic and raisins and blend until smooth.
  5. In a heavy-based pot, add the remaining oil and all the purees and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chocolate and sugar and stir until simmering. Add 500ml of the chicken stock. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Add salt to taste and reduce further, or add extra stock to make a thinner sauce.
  6. Add the chicken or turkey pieces to the mole, cover and cook over low heat until heated through. Serve hot, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

Further information

Dried chillies are available by mail-order from Mexican Food Supplies, (02) 9826 9378.

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