Chicken Mole-Easy Sauce Recipe!

Yields up to 8  servings(printable recipe at the end of blog post)

Ingredients:

10 dried chile peppers(I used 5 ancho and 5 pasilla)
2- 14 ounce can Hunt’s fire roasted garlic tomatoes
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
2 serrano peppers
½ cup toasted slivered almonds
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 ounce disc of Mexican chocolate
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chile ancho powder
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Salt and fresh cracked pepper
6 cups chicken broth

*3-4 pounds of chicken pieces, skin on

Directions

~For Chicken Mole: Season 3 pounds of bone in chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Brown and sear for 5 minutes per side in preheated olive oil.  Keep warm in low temperature oven while you prepare your sauce. Add chicken to simmering mole sauce and continue to cook at a steady simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is falling off the bone.

1. Remove the stems and seeds from pasilla peppers. Transfer to a glass bowl, cover with water and cook in the microwave for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring once during cooking time. Remove from microwave, cover and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Roughly chop the onion, serrano chile, and the garlic, set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil to medium/high heat. Add the onions, serrano and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper as you build your layers.

3. Drain all of the liquid from the pasilla peppers, add them to the pan, along with 4 cups of broth and all of the remaining ingredients, minus the Mexican chocolate. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and transfer the mixture to a blender or high capacity processor. Blend on high until smooth. Be extremely careful when blending hot liquids. Always secure top of blender using a towel, use your hand to hold down lid tightly.

4. Strain the sauce through a wire mesh strainer into a larger bowl, for a really smooth sauce. I have skipped this step a couple of times, but I would say that the strained sauce is my favorite version.

5. In that same pan, heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil to medium heat. Let it heat for a minute or two. Add the sauce to pan, add the remaining chicken broth, stir well and taste for salt. When it comes to a boil, add the Mexican chocolate and stir until melted. If you like the sauce a little sweeter, you can add a little piloncillo or dark brown sugar to taste. I like mine more on the savory side. Cover, reduce heat and continue cooking and stirring for another 35 to 40 minutes, tasting for salt along the way. Ad the chicken at this time and cook as directed. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve with Mexican rice and warm tortillas.