Chicken mole
This is a simplified version of the classic Mexican dish (‘mohlay’) that combines chocolate and chilli to create a rich, fruity sauce. Different versions use different chillies, but all are flavourful and fruity. You can buy the three types I’ve used dried from delis or from souschef.co.uk.
Serves 4
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 onions, diced 1 ½ tsp cinnamon 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tbsp raisins 1 tsp chipotle flakes 1 ancho chilli*, 1 pasilla chilli and 1 mulato chilli, soaked for 1 hour in just enough water to cover them 65g almonds, toasted 1 x 390g tin chopped tomatoes Juice of 1 orange 50g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids) 8 chicken thighs
to serve
Lime wedges Coriander rice Soured cream
1 Heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onions until they start to turn translucent. Add the cinnamon, cumin, raisins and chipotle flakes, and fry for a further 2 mins. Remove from the heat.
2 Remove the stems and seeds from the chillis and tip into a food processor with 4 tbsp of the soaking liquid and the toasted almonds. Blitz to a paste, then add the onion mixture, tomatoes and orange juice, and blitz again.
3 Transfer to a pan and heat through, then add the chocolate and let it melt into the sauce. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
4 Preheat oven to 190C/Fan 170C/ Gas 5. Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan and brown the chicken thighs all over, until sealed and golden.
5 Transfer to a baking dish and pour over the mole sauce. Bake for about 1 hour. Serve with rice flecked with chopped coriander, soured cream and wedges of lime to squeeze over.