Cook Rick Bayless Oaxacan Black Mole With Braised Chicken Food

MOLE NEGRO OAXAQUENO: OAXACAN BLACK MOLE

Steps:

• In a 2 gallon stockpot, heat 5 quarts water and onions, celery, and carrots to a boil. Add chicken pieces and poach, covered, over low heat for about 35 to 45 minutes, until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Remove the meat from the stock. Strain and reserve the stock.
• Heat 2 quarts of water in a kettle. On a 10-inch dry comal, griddle, or in a cast-iron frying pan, toast the chiles over medium heat until blackened, but not burnt, about 10 minutes. Place the chiles in a large bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 1/2 hour. Remove the chiles from the soaking water with tongs, placing small batches in a blender with 1/4 cup of the chile soaking water to blend smooth. Put the chile puree through a strainer to remove the skins.
• In the same dry comal, griddle, or frying pan, grill the onion and garlic over medium heat for 10 minutes. Set aside. Toast the almonds, peanuts, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and cloves in a dry comal, griddle or cast-iron frying pan for about 5 minutes. Remove them from the pan.
• Over the same heat, toast the chile seeds, taking care to blacken but not burn them, about 20 minutes. Try to do this outside or in a well-ventilated place because the seeds will give off very strong fumes. When the seeds are completely black, light them with a match and let them burn themselves out. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl. Soak the blackened seeds in 1 cup of cold water for 10 minutes. Drain the seeds and grind them in a blender for about 2 minutes. Add the blended chile seeds to the blended chile mixture.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in an 8-inch cast-iron frying pan over medium heat until smoking. Add the raisins and fry them until they are plump, approximately 1 minute. Remove from the pan. Fry the bread slice in the same oil until browned, about 5 minutes, over medium heat. Remove from pan. Fry the plantain in the same oil until it is well browned, approximately 10 minutes, over medium heat. Set aside. Fry the sesame seeds, stirring constantly over low heat, adding more oil if needed. When the sesame seeds start to brown, about 5 minutes, add the pecans and brown for 2 minutes more. Remove all from the pan, let cool, and grind finely in a spice grinder. It takes a bit of time, but this is the only way to grind the seeds and nuts finely enough.
• Wipe out the frying pan and fry the tomatoes, tomatillos, thyme, and oregano over medium to high heat, allowing the juices to almost evaporate, about 15 minutes. Blend well, using 1/2 cup of reserved stock if needed to blend and set aside. Place the nuts, bread, plantains, raisins, onion, garlic and spices in the blender in small batches, and blend well, adding about 1 cup of stock to make it smooth.
• In a heavy 4-quart stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons of lard or oil until smoking and fry the chile paste over medium to low heat, stirring constantly so it will not burn, approximately 20 minutes. When it is dry, add the tomato puree and fry until the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the ground ingredients, including the sesame seed paste, to the pot. Stir constantly with a wooden soon until well-incorporated, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken stock to the mole, stir well, and allow to cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Break up the chocolate and add to the pot, stirring until it is melted and incorporated into the mixture.
• Toast the avocado leaf briefly over the flame if you have a gas range or in a dry frying pan and then add it to the pot. Slowly add more stock to the mole, as it will keep thickening as it cooks. Add enough salt to bring out the flavor. Let simmer another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not stick, adding stock as needed. The mole should not be thick; just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Place the cooked chicken pieces in the leftover stock in a saucepan and heat through.
• To serve, place a piece of chicken in a shallow bowl and ladle 3/4 of a cup of mole sauce over to cover it completely. Serve immediately with lots of hot corn tortillas.
• You can use oil instead of lard to fry the mole, but the flavor will change dramatically. In our pueblo, people traditionally use turkey instead of chicken, and sometimes add pieces of pork and beef to enhance the flavor. You can use leftover mole and chicken meat to make Enmoladas or Tamales Oazaquenos made with banana leaves.
• Inspired by Maria Taboada and Paula Martinez

LACQUERED CHICKEN IN RED MOLE

Steps:

• On a rimmed baking sheet, roast the tomatillos 4 inches below the broiler until splotchy black and thoroughly soft, about 5 minutes per side. Scrape roasted tomatillos into a large bowl, along with any juices from the sheet.
• In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer half of the toasted sesame seeds to a large mixing bowl to combine with the roasted tomatillos; set aside the other half for serving.
• Remove and discard the stems, seeds, and veins from the dried chiles. Heat ¼ cup of the lard or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Tear the dried chiles into large pieces and toast in the oil until they become aromatic and their interior side has lightened in color, 20-30 seconds for each side. (You will need to work in batches.) As they're done, remove them to a large bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the skillet; reserve the fat. Cover the toasted chiles with hot tap water and allow them to rehydrate, 30 minutes.
• With the skillet still over medium heat, toast the almonds and garlic cloves, stirring, until they are browned and the garlic is soft, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the almonds and garlic into the bowl with the tomatillos and sesame seeds, leaving as much fat as possible in the skillet. Add the raisins to the hot skillet and stir for 20 or 30 seconds, until they''ve puffed and browned slightly. Scoop them out, leaving as much fat as possible in the skillet, and add to the tomatillo mixture; reserve the fat. Set the skillet aside, off the heat.
• Grind the black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, and anise seed to powder in the mortar; transfer the powder to the tomatillo mixture. Tear the toasted bread into large pieces and add to the mixture; roughly chop the chocolate before adding.
• Add 2 cups of water to the tomatillo mixture. Drain the rehydrated chiles, reserving the soaking liquid if it''s not bitter. Otherwise, drain and substitute fresh water. Working in batches, add the drained chiles and some of the soaking liquid (or fresh water) to a blender; starting at low and moving to high speed, purée until very smooth. As you go, add more water as necessary to achieve an even consistency, similar to a thick canned tomato sauce. Use a rubber spatula to press the purée through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the bits of skin and seeds that don''t pass through. Repeat with the remaining chiles.
• Heat ½ cup lard (or vegetable oil) in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it's hot, add the chile purée; it should sizzle sharply. Stir and adjust the heat as necessary to keep the chile purée at a brisk simmer. Stir every couple of minutes until it has darkened and reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, about 30 minutes.
• Blend the tomatillo-nut mixture as smoothly as possible (you may need an extra cup or so of water to keep everything moving through the blades). Pass the purée through the medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; then add to the pot. Stir to combine and simmer over medium-low to low heat, stirring every few minutes, until the mixture is considerably darker and thicker, about 30-45 minutes.
• Check the thickness by dragging a spoon or rubber spatula across the bottom of the pot. If the spoon leaves a deep trail, the mixture is thickened sufficiently.Add the broth to the mole and stir well. Partially cover the pot and briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat, stirring every 20 minutes or so, until the flavors come together and mellow, about 2 hours. If the mole has thickened beyond the consistency of a cream soup, stir in a little water.
• Season with salt (1 heaping tablespoon), and taste. Then add the sugar, stir, and taste. If necessary, add more sugar a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go, until the mole tastes mellow and balanced: you should be able to detect hints of flavor from all the ingredients. (Note: Mole can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.) For the Lacquered Chicken in Red Mole (not in video): Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, mix together 1 cup of the mole with the agave nectar or corn syrup. Simmer over medium heat until glossy and reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes; set aside. Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets; season generously with salt. Bake until the chicken pieces are tender to the bone and the juices at the thickest part of the leg and thigh portions run clear, about 45 minutes.Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Pour off the juices that have collected around the chicken, then brush the pieces liberally with the mole mixture. Sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds. Bake until a glaze forms on the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then serve each portion of chicken with an additional ½ cup of the mole, garnished with watercress or flat-leaf parsley.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH OAXACAN MOLE

Steps:

• Wash the chile, remove stem and seeds. Place in a medium bowl and cover with warm water. Let stand for 30 minutes. While chile is soaking, add the sesame seeds and spices to a large skillet and toast over moderately low heat, stirring until fragrant. Place toasted mixture in a grinder and process to a fine powder. Set aside.
• In the same skillet add in 1 tablespoon oil and warm slightly. Stir in raisins, almonds and tortilla. Cook over low heat until almonds are toasted and raisins plump. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
• Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook, turning frequently until skins are blistered on all sides. Transfer to a bowl. Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring until lightly browned taking care not to burn the garlic. Place contents in a blender or food processor container and lightly chop.
• Add a tablespoon of oil to skillet, stir in chopped vegetables and spice mix. Cover over medium heat until warmed through. Drain the chiles and add along with chicken stock. Partially cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from heat, add in chocolate and process in a blender in batches or using stick blender process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet warm 2 tablespoons of oil and in batches if necessary brown chicken over high heat, turning as needed to brown all sides. Place browned chicken in oven proof dish, pour prepared mole over all. Cover and bake in preheated oven until chicken is cooked through, approximately 1 hour. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with additional sesame seeds and chopped fresh cilantro.
• Note: The mole can be prepared ahead of time and frozen in 2 cup portions. Defrost in refrigerator and warm before pouring over browned chicken. Bake chicken and mole as directed.