Original Recipe Author: Adapted from Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook (find on Amazon.co.uk)

 

Description:  

The mole sauce:
4 chipotle chiles (these are dry smoked jalapeno chiles)
16 ancho chiles or mulato chiles (these are dried poblano chiles - mild to medium hot, sweet and fruity)
16 pasilla negro chiles (dried hot chilaca chiles)
1 large red bell pepper (the ordinary kind of red peppers)
1 1/4 cups (5oz) sesame seeds
1 1/3 cups peanut oil
1/3 loaf French bread, sliced
1 cup walnut pieces
1 tablet (3oz) Mexican chocolate (this is very dark chocolate which also contains ground almonds and cinnamon - if you can't get it try the 80% cocoa type of chocolate)
1 Mexican cinnamon stick (not sure what the difference is, may be a softer type?)
2 plum tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
4 tomatillos, with husks removed (these are green fruit/vegetables like a cross between tomatoes and gooseberries - you might be able to find them in tins)
1 ripe banana, peeled and cut into chunks
3-inch piece (1 1/2 oz) fresh ginger, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1/2 large onion, cut into quarters
8 pints water
2 cups olive oil
1 - 2 cups brown sugar (optional, to taste)

The non-sauce bit:
1 1/2 chickens

 

Making the Mexican mole sauce:
Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C / Gas Mark 4

Clean and dry the chiles and remove the stems but not the seeds. Wash your hands and don't rub your eyes!

Roast the red pepper in the gas flame or under a grill thill they are blackened on the outside. Then seal them in a plastic bag to steam until they cool down enough for you to remove the stem and peel it but leave the seeds in. Don't wash them off with water as this will lose some of the flavour.

Toast the sesame seeds in an oven or dry frying pan, leave them to cool and put 3 tbsp aside for a garnish.

Toast the chiles in a dry frying pan or saute pan for 3-5 minutes, shaking or stirring constantly, until they are evenly toasted but not charred at all, then remove them from the pan.

Heat the peanut oil in the chile-toasting pan, then put the chiles back in a few at a time, for a few seconds each, so that they puff up. Take the chiles out with a slotted spoon and put them with the toasted sesame seeds. Keep the oil.

Add the roasted red pepper to the chiles and sesame seeds.

Toast the bread and walnuts for 10-15 minutes on a baking sheet, turning occasionally so the walnuts don't burn. 

While they are toasting, break up the chocolate and cinnamon stick into a large bowl, then put the hot toasted bread and walnuts on top to melt them.

Reheat the oil over a medium heat, then add the whole tomatoes, garlic cloves, tomatillos, banana chunks, ginger and onion. Cook for 7-10 minutes: the onion should be translucent, the tomatoes should begin to char and burst, and the tomatillos should be darker green. Drain them and discard the oil.

At this point, everything you've cooked so far (except the reserved sesame seeds) should go into the bowl with the chocolate mixture. Mix, then blend in batches with a blender, adding enough water to make the sauce about as thick as an ice cream shake.

Then strain the mixture, using a wooden spoon to push it through a large mesh strainer or sieve to get a puree.

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot, add the puree, whisk together with a balloon whisk and then cook on a low  heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Taste, and add brown sugar and / or Mexican chocolate to taste. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Making the chicken:
Cut the chicken into 6 pieces, put in a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until cooked. Drain the chicken, put it back in the pot with 6 cups of mole and heat through.

Serve the chicken with 1-2cups of mole ladled over it and toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top.