Name: Mexican chicken mole rojo
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 8 chicken thighs; 1 onion; 3 small tomatoes; 1 garlic clove; 1 tbsp sea salt flakes; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 3 ancho chillies; 3 guajillo chillies; 70g blanched peanuts; 40g sesame seeds; 1 plantain cut into slices; 4 tomatoes halved; 1 onion quartered; 2 garlic cloves peeled; 1 slice of white bread; ¼ tbsp ground cumin; 2 whole cloves; ½ cinnamon stick or ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 5 whole black peppercorns; 1 tsp dried oregano; ½ tbsp sea salt flakes; 3 small pieces of 70% dark chocolate

8 chicken thighs
1 onion
3 small tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
3 tbsp vegetable oil

MOLE PASTE

3 ancho chillies
3 guajillo chillies
70g blanched peanuts
40g sesame seeds
1 plantain
cut into slices
4 tomatoes
halved
1 onion
quartered
2 garlic cloves
peeled
1 slice of white bread
¼ tbsp ground cumin
2 whole cloves
½ cinnamon stick or ½ tsp ground cinnamon
5 whole black peppercorns
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tbsp sea salt flakes
3 small pieces of 70% dark chocolate

Method

step 1
Put the chicken in a large pan with the onion, tomatoes, garlic, salt and 1 litre of water. Bring to a boil, skim any scum from the surface, then turn down the heat to medium, cook for 35 mins, then turn off the heat.
step 2
To make the mole paste, clean the chillies and remove the stems and seeds. Put a dry pan over a high heat and toast the chillies for 1 min, then put them in a small bowl of hot water to rehydrate for 5 mins. Toast the peanuts and sesame seeds in the same pan for a few minutes until lightly browned, then remove from the pan. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the pan and fry the plantain, tomatoes, onion and garlic for 2 mins – you may need to do this in batches.
step 3
Put all the mole paste ingredients, except the chocolate, into a bowl and mix well, then blend in batches in a food processor until you have a smooth, thick paste – use a little of the water from the chillies or chicken to loosen, if needed. Strain the mole paste through a sieve.
step 4
Heat the remaining oil in large lidded pan over a medium heat, then tip in the mole. Lower the heat and cook for 3 mins, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Pour in a ladleful of the chicken cooking liquid and add the chocolate. Stir every few minutes, adding extra cooking liquid to loosen, until the chocolate has melted and it is a thick but pourable consistency that coats the back of a spoon – you will know it is ready when a light layer of oil appears on the surface.
step 5
Add the chicken and cook for 5 mins until warmed through. To serve, put a layer of mole on a plate, topped with two chicken little bitter, add 1 tsp of thighs and an extra drizzle of the sauce.