Bake It: Chicken Mole

Bake It: Chicken Mole

Full of traditional Mexican flavor, mole sauce will really get your senses sizzling.

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup raisins
½ cup canned tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 corn tortilla, torn in small pieces
1 ½ cup chicken stock
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, grated
2 split chicken breasts
2 chicken thighs
2 chicken drumsticks
chopped cilantro for garnish

Seed and Nut Mixture:
½ Tablespoon sunflower seeds
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon anise seeds
½ cup blanched, slivered almonds

Spice mixture:
¼ teaspoon ground oregano
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chili powder

Steps:
1. Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in a large skillet and brown both sides of each piece of chicken. The chicken will not be cooked through. Refrigerate the chicken while making the mole sauce.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet. Add the seed and nut mixture and heat until toasted. Puree in a food processor.

3. Add the spice mixture, raisins, chili powder, tomatoes, onion, garlic, tortilla and ½ cup of chicken broth to the food processor. Process until smooth.

4. Transfer the paste to a saucepan and stir in the remaining chicken broth. Add the grated chocolate and stir to melt it.

5. Add the browned chicken pieces to the sauce, with the dark meat pieces on the bottom. Cook until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, approximately 30-45 minutes.

6. Serve with rice and garnish with chopped cilantro.