Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

8 oz Ancho chiles, stems and tops
Removed
8 oz Guajillo chiles, stems and
Tops removed
12 Whole black peppercorns
6 Whole cloves
1 (2-inch) piece of true
Ceylon cinnamon, or
Substitute 2 teaspoons
Ground
Cinnamon
2 tb Mexican oregano
1/2 To 1 cup lard
1/2 c Sesame seeds
1/2 c Dry-roasted unsalted
Peanuts
1/2 c Slivered almonds
1/2 c Walnut or pecan meats
1/2 c Golden raisins
1 c Pitted prunes, sliced
1 c Pitted dried apricots,
Sliced
1 To 1 1/2 cups sherry,
Heated
1 Large, very ripe plantain
2 tb Butter or lard
1/2 Head garlic (8 cloves),
Unpeeled
1 lg Onion, unpeeled
1 lb Firm, ripe tomatoes (2 large
Or 3 to 4 medium)
1/4 lb Tomatillos
4 To 5 cups chicken stock, or
As necessary
1 (3-ounce) tablet Mexican
Chocolate

Rinse chiles under cold running water, removing seeds. Heat a griddle
or cast-iron skillet over high heat until a drop of water sizzles on
contact. Briefly toast chiles, a few at a time, on griddle, turning
once or twice, until their aroma is released. Do not let them scorch
or the dish will be ruined! As chiles are toasted, place in a large
bowl or saucepan. Cover with boiling water and let soak until
softened, no more than 10 minutes, while you prepare the spices.
Drain and reserve. Rinse and dry the griddle, which you will need
later. Heat a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add
peppercorns and cloves; toast, shaking pan and stirring constantly,
until their aroma is released, about 1 minute. Set aside in a small
bowl. Lightly toast cinnamon in the same pan for about 1 minute; add
to the peppercorns and cloves. Toast oregano in the same pan until
fragrant and add to the spices. Set aside while you prepare the nuts.
In a heavy medium skillet, heat 2 to 4 tablespoons of the lard over
medium heat until rippling. Add sesame seeds and saute, stirring,
just until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes; do not let them darken.
Remove to a medium-sized heat-proof bowl.
In the same pan, saute peanuts in the same manner, stirring, until
lightly browned, adding a little more lard. Add to the bowl with
sesame seeds. Saute the slivered almonds, then the pecans or walnuts,
by the same procedure, using a little more lard each time and adding
toasted nuts to the sesame and peanuts. Set aside. Place raisins,
prunes, and apricots in a bowl and pour hot sherry over them. Set
aside to soften Peel plantain and cut into 1/2-inch slices. In a
medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of butter or lard until very hot.
Add plantain slices, and saute until golden on both sides. Set aside.
Heat griddle or cast-iron skillet over high heat until a drop of
water sizzles on contact. Place unpeeled garlic and onion on griddle
and roast, turning several times, until onion is blackened on all
sides and garlic is dark brown and somewhat softened. Let cool
slightly. Peel onion and garlic; coarsely chop onion. Set aside. On
same griddle roast the tomatoes, turning several times until
blackened on all sides. Place in a deep bowl to catch the juices. Let
cool slightly and peel. Place tomatillos in a small saucepan and
cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered until the
color changes, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Now you are ready to puree the ingredients in sequence, working in
batches according to the capacity of your blender and adding chicken
stock as necessary to facilitate the blending.
Place as many of the drained chiles and toasted spices in a blender
as it can comfortably accommodate, with about 1 cup chicken stock.
Process until smoothly pureed, adding more stock if necessary. Repeat
with remaining chiles and spices. With a wooden spoon or pusher,
force the puree through a sieve into a bowl; discard whatever will
not go through. Scrape the puree into a large, heavy saucepan or
Dutch oven; rinse out blender to wash away any hard or fibrous bits.
Puree sesame seeds and nuts in several batches with just as much
chicken stock as necessary to help free the blades. Add to the chile
puree. Puree dried fruit and sherry along with sauteed plantain in
the same manner, adding a little stock if necessary. Add to the
saucepan with chile and nuts. Puree onion, garlic, tomatoes, and
tomatillos (they may not need added stock). Add to other purees in
saucepan. Coarsely chop the chocolate and add to pureed ingredients.
Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for
30 minutes. Serve with chicken (either cooked separately or browned
in a little hot lard and added to the sauce to finish braising) and
sauteed sliced plantains. (The mole is also good with turkey). Can be
stored tightly covered in refrigerator for 10 days or indefinitely in
freezer.

Yield: 3 quarts

CHEF DU JOUR ZARELA MARTINEZ SHOW #DJ9159

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