Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Chicken Mole..Slow Cooking for a Winter Evening



In staying with our winter slow cook theme, here's a recipe for Chicken Mole that has a rich, hearty, delicious flavor.  It's just the sort of thing you want when the temperature drops low and you're in your warmest sweaters.

As you may know, Mole is a Mexican slow cook sauce that has chocolate in it.  A traditional mole can have as many as 25 ingredients.  This is an abbreviated version and it is also a very mild version. And yet, it still packs plenty of flavor.  Frankly, I could not stop licking the spoon.  If you like spicy, add in more chili pepper to taste.

Although this recipe requires several hours of slow cook time, once the prep is over, you can sit back and enjoy the beautiful aroma while everything simmers slowly on the stovetop.



Chicken Mole
1 organic chicken
water
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
1/2 c sesame seeds
5 cloves
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t fennel
2 T palm oil
1/2 c raisins or dried mixed berries and cranberries
1/4 c almonds
1/4 c pepitas
3 T unsweetened cocoa
1 pinch chipotle chili pepper
2 c organic chicken broth
1 diced bell pepper
1 T Coconut Nectar
1 can mild roasted green chiles

Put the chicken in a soup pot and cover with water.  Add in salt and pepper and put the pot over the lowest heat setting.  Bring the pot to a slow simmer and let the chicken cook until done, about 45 minutes or so, depending on how low your stove simmers.

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, roast the sesame seeds, cloves cinnamon, coriander and fennel, stirring or shaking the pan.  Watch closely.  Add the toasted spices to the bed of a food processor and add in the palm oil, dried fruits, almonds, pepitas, cocoa, and chili pepper.

Pour the processed mixture out into a soup pot and add in the broth, bell pepper, coconut nectar and green chiles.  Simmer over low heat for an hour or two until the mixture is rich and thick. If additional cooking liquid is needed, occasionally add some of the broth from the simmered chicken.  When thoroughly cooked, process one more time.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve the sauce over the simmered chicken.  You can top with chopped cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.  

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