Chicken mole

For most authentic Mexican mole sauce in Seattle, I head to La Carta de Oaxaca in Ballard. I usually get the chicken mole tamale rather than the mole dish itself, can never get past that on the menu no matter how many times I go! Still, have always wanted to figure out a fresh mole sauce at home that is extremely flavourful but not sweet, exactly how I like it. This recipe yields a really complex, flavourful sauce with a hint of sweetness and is great served with a few slices of radish on rice or tortillas. This recipe serves 4 - 6.

Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 large dried Ancho Chile
4 dried Chipotle peppers
3-4 pieces cinnamon
4 cloves
2 tbsp. coriander seeds
4 tbsp. black sesame seeds
4 tbsp raw blister peanuts
12 almonds

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large onions, diced

3-4 Serrano peppers, chopped (de-seeded if you don't want the heat)

4 tbsp. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

4 cups chicken stock

4-6 tbsp. oil 

2 lb. chicken, boneless and skinless thigh or breast meat.
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 lemon
3-4 radishes, sliced for garnish
Cilantro, chopped for garnish


Method:
Marinate the chicken for an hour with salt, pepper, 1tsp. thyme and juice from half a lemon. Heat the chicken stock in a separate sauce pan.

Toast the chilies in a dry pan on both sides. They become easily pliable after being on the heat for bit and are easier to tear into pieces as needed, discarding any seeds. There should be a wonderful aroma but don't let them burn. Pour a cup of hot stock into a bowl and add the toasted chilies to it to soften.

Toast the almonds on a pan, toss into the blender jar. Then repeat with sesame, coriander, cloves, cinnamon and peanuts. Saute the onions, garlic and Serrano peppers in a little oil until softened. Add to rest of the ingredients in the blender jar, add the chilies softened in stock along with the liquid and blitz until pureed.
Heat some oil in a dutch oven, add the mole sauce with the rest of the stock, chocolate, salt, rest of the thyme and simmer. You can add more chocolate if you prefer a sweeter sauce.
Keep stirring the sauce often and simmering for around 15 minutes, add more water if needed to maintain the consistency. It should be a really rich, dark, chocolatey sauce.

Heat a shallow frying pan, add sufficient oil to coat, add the chicken pieces in a single layer with lots of room and cook until brown on all sides. Repeat with rest of the chicken pieces. Cover with foil and let the chicken rest. When cool, cut into smaller pieces. Add the chicken to the mole and keep simmering until the chicken is tender. You can also cover and cook to quicken this process - should take around 20-30 minutes.

Garnish with lemon slices, radish slices and chopped coriander.