Green Pipiân Mole With Chicken Food

PIPIáN ROJO RECIPE

Steps:

• Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add the meat, and sear both sides, turning once when the meat gets a light golden color. This step will take about 5 minutes total. Add one cup of water to the saucepan and cover to simmer and cook until the meat is almost fork-tender.
• While the meat is cooking, let's prepare the sauce. Prepare a medium-size saucepan
• with 2 cups of water where you are going to be placing all the toasted ingredients. Toast the peppers over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds per side. Place in the saucepan.
• Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet or frying pan. We'll start with the larger seeds: first the peanuts, then the pumpkin seeds and finally the sesame seeds. Toasting the peanuts will take about 1-1/2 minutes, afterward remove and place in a bowl. Toast the pumpkin seeds, being careful not to burn them. Once they start to get a golden color, they will begin to jump; use a wooden spatula to stir. This step is a very quick one, and the same process applies to the sesame seeds that will be roasted in a matter of seconds. Place roasted seeds in the bowl with the water.
• Now, slightly roast cinnamon, cumin seeds, cloves and allspice berries. Place them in the bowl with water once toasted.
• Finally, roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic, turning occasionally to obtain an even roasting. Place in the bowl with the water.
• Place the bowl's contents in the saucepan over a medium-high heat and cook for about 8 minutes; set aside to let the ingredients soften.
• Check the meat for doneness, and add more water if needed.
• Place all the sauce's ingredients in your blender pitcher and process until you have a smooth and robust sauce. Do not process it for a long period of time, just enough to blend the ingredients.
• Pour the sauce into a large skillet and turn up the heat to medium-high and slowly cook the sauce. Add the pieces of meat and stir occasionally. Keep cooking for about 10 minutes. The fats will float over the surface by now. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little chicken broth or water. Season with salt and pepper.

CHICKEN IN GREEN PIPIAN SAUCE

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Slide your fingertips beneath the skin of each chicken breast to loosen. Drizzle each breast with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, rubbing beneath and on top of the skin.
• Place the chicken on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and roast in the oven until the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Set aside and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, for the sauce: Preheat a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot. Toast the pumpkin seeds, stirring constantly, until they have expanded and begin to pop, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a plate to cool. Reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish.
• In a medium, heavy saucepan, simmer the tomatillos, serrano and onions in salted water to cover until the tomatillos turn a dark green color, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos, serrano and onions to a blender and puree with the chicken broth, cilantro, sugar and toasted pumpkin seeds until smooth (the sauce will be a little coarse). Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, remove the skin from the chicken breasts and slice the chicken crosswise on the bias. Transfer to a serving plate. Spoon the green pipian sauce on top and garnish with the reserved toasted pumpkin seeds.

GREEN PIPIAN

Steps:

• Heat a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Wait until you hear one pop, then stir constantly until they have puffed and popped, and smell toasty. They should not get any darker than golden or they will taste bitter. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
• Place the cooled pumpkin seeds in a blender and add the tomatillos, chiles, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Cover the blender and blend the mixture until smooth, stopping the blender to stir if necessary.
• Heat the oil in the Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a bit of the pumpkin seed mixture and if it sizzles, add the rest. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens and thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. It will splutter, so be careful. Hold the lid of the pot above the pot to shield you and your stove from the splutters. Add the remaining chicken stock, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. For a silkier sauce, blend again in batches.

MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• Place the meat and bay leaf in a large casserole, and add just enough water to barely cover it. Turn heat to medium and cook for about 30 minutes with the lid on. The water will start to reduce, and the meat will start browning on its rendered fat. The slow cooking process will produce a tender meat. If after this period of time your meat still looks though, keep cooking and add a little bit more water as needed.
• While the meat is cooking, place tomatillos in a saucepan*, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatillos are pale green and soft, about 6-8 minute.o
• Place the cooked and drained tomatillos in a blender with the pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, Serrano peppers, garlic, onion, romaine lettuce leaves, Hoja Santa leaves, cilantro leaves, spices, and 1 cup of water or chicken broth. Process until you have a very smooth sauce. Depending on your blender, you may need to work in batches.
• By this time, the meat should be starting to brown in the casserole. Pour the sauce over the meat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to avoid the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Once the sauce starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently to allow all the flavors to be absorbed. Add the cubed vegetables and more water as needed.
• Keep slowly simmering until the vegetables are cooked, about 8 minutes. Serve warm with a nice portion of rice and corn tortillas to scoop up the mole sauce from the plate.

CHICKEN IN PIPIAN SAUCE (PUMPKIN SEED)

Steps:

• In large skillet, toast pumpkin seeds, almonds and cumin seeds over low heat, shaking pan, until almonds are golden brown.
• In blender or food processor, grind toasted mixture.
• Add onion, garlic, chilies, cilantro and 1 cup broth. Blend until smooth.
• Pour mixture into medium saucepan. Stir in remaining broth and lemon juice.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper.
• In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté chicken until browned.
• Reduce heat to low, pour pumpkin seeds sauce over chicken and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink and sauce is thick.

GREEN PIPIâN MOLE WITH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make the mole:
• In a sauté pan over moderate heat, toast the pumpkins seeds, stirring frequently and being careful not to burn them. Transfer to a small bowl to cool. Once cool, reserve about 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds for garnish, then transfer the remaining seeds to a blender and add enough vegetable stock to cover by 1 inch. Blend on high until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and clean the blender.
• Place the tomatillos, epazote, hoja santa, romaine, cilantro, chiles, onion, garlic, and cumin in a blender, in that order, and blend well. If more liquid is needed, add water or broth, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• In a deep skillet over high heat, heat the oil until shimmering then carefully add the tomatillo mixture and fry, stirring constantly and adding broth or water as needed to achieve a sauce-like consistency, for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and add the pumpkin seed mixture. Mix well, then season to taste with salt.
• To serve:
• Divide the rice, chayote or zucchini, green beans, and poached chicken among 4 plates. Coat the chicken with the mole, garnish with the reserved pumpkin seeds, and serve.
• DO AHEAD: Leftover mole can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days in the refrigerator. Or, if frozen properly in an airtight container and wrapped in plastic and then aluminum wrap, it can be held for up to 4 months in the freezer.

SALMON IN LUXURIOUS GREEN SESAME PIPIAN (SALMON EN PIPIAN VERDE

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, process the salsa to a smooth puree.
• Heat the oil in a very large (12 inch) skillet over medium high heat. When it is hot, add the salsa all at once. Stir as the salsa reduces to the consistency of tomato paste, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the broth and the tahini. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about ½ tsp, and a little sugar. (The sugar will help balance the natural tartness of the salsa.).
• While the sauce is simmering, pour the peas into a microwaveable bowl, sprinkle on a Tbsp of water, cover with plastic wrap and poke a couple of holes in the top. Microwave on high until the peas are hot and tender, anywhere from 1 minute for frozen peas to 4 or 5 minutes for fresh peas; discard water.
• When the sauce has simmered for 10 minutes, nestle the fish fillets in it, completely submerging them. Continue simmering gently until the fish flakes when pressed firmly, usually 5 to 6 minutes for ½ inch thick fillets. (Check it by lifting up a fillet on a metal spatula and pressing it with your finger or the back of a spoon.).
• Transfer a fish fillet to each dinner plate. Spoon a portion of the sauce over the top. Strew with the peas, sesame seeds and cilantro.
• Variations:.
• You can replace the peas with a couple of medium-large red-skin boiling potatoes cut into eighths (microwave them until tender, about 8 minutes). Mix the potatoes into the sauce after transferring the fillets to the dinner plates. A can of white beans makes a great replacement for the peas; drain and rinse them before adding them to the sauce. This dish is also wonderful made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts or semi-boneless quail; poach the birds in the sauce as described or, for added flavor, brown them in oil in the large skillet, then remove them and, without washing the skillet, cook down the pureed salsa. Tahini is an easy addition because it's smoothly ground, but you can use the very traditional pumpkin seeds or almonds or peanuts; puree them with the salsa, but stir carefully as you cook the mixture down to a paste (it will stick more easily than the salsa alone) After the sauce has simmered 10 minutes, it will likely be quite coarse looking; reblend the hot sauce in a loosely covered blender to smooth it out.