Another fusion dish that’s really easy to make, this riff on classic Mexican mole with an ensemble of salads is extremely easy to knock up and ideally suited to this season.
This recipe is for 2 diners. You do the math if you need to..
Shopping list
The protein bit..
1 large chicken breast per diner
Mezcal, about 1 shot per chicken breast-slash-diner (as a marinade or aperitif)
For the mole...
3 large tomatoes
5 tbspns raw peanuts
A cinnamon stick
1 star anise pod
1 tspn pimentón
3 tbspns of vegetable oil
A few peppercorns, roughly ground
A smidgen of dried thyme, cloves and salt, respectively
6 tbspns seedless raisins
8 large dried chillies, ideally of the guajillo type or the the closest to them
1 cup of chicken stock (or diluted cubes/jellies) of the equivalent
1/4 cup corn masa harina or four tbspns maize flour
4 large squares of dark bitter chocolate, finely grated
For the salads...
A quarter of red cabbage, finely sliced
Mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar to taste
Caraway seeds
Lamb’s lettuce
1 avocado, cubed
6 jalapeno peppers, finely sliced
1 large brown onion, diced
Half a tin of plum tomatoes
Chillies, finely chopped
Half a tin of red kidney beans
70g cooked petit pois
100g Mexican black beans, cooked and cooled
Cooking method
For the chicken
Marinate the chicken breasts in the mezcal with a few chopped jalapeno peppers in the fridge for 24 to 6 hours before cooking. Simply grill or pan fry the chicken breasts (chucking in the excess booze and jalapenos) before plating with the mole
For the mole
Roast the tomatoes in an oven-proof dish until entirely cooked. Allow to cool and then remove the skins. You can do this the day before or earlier and store in a sealed container in the fridge
In a blender, purée the roasted tomatoes, peanuts, chillies, raisins and all of the spices until they're a smooth paste
Pour the oil into a large pan and heat on a high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the translucent
Create a roux, whisking three quarters of the chicken stock and the masa harina. Add this to the cooking onions and garlic while reducing the heat. Add the tomatoes and the puréed blend of spices, peanuts and chillies. Cover and cook on a reduced heat for about 1 hour stirring occasionally to ensure nothing sticks
Add a little more of the roux, masa harina or chicken stock as needed for thickening the sauce. After 45 min to 1 hour, add the grated chocolate, little by little, until the mixture forms a thick, almost glaze-like sauce
For the salads
Bean salad
For the bean salad, add the diced onion to heated oil in a pan and sweat
Once the onions begin turn golden, add the diced plum tomatoes and allow them to cook in their own juice for 10 mins or so. Add the finely chopped chillies
Stir in the red kidney beans and the Mexican black beans, allowing them to soften slightly and integrate with the dish, adding seasoning to taste. Cook for another 20 mins or so on a low-to-medium heat
Cool entirely before serving. Then decant into a salad dish and dress with a little extra virgin olive oil
The slaw
Decant the thinly sliced red cabbage to a serving bowl
Add mayonnaise (and a little balsamic vinegar if needed)
The green one
Spread the Lamb’s lettuce around a salad bowl
Add the cubed avocado
Sprinkle over the caraway seeds and finally dress with balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil before serving
Pairings
Yeah, we know: call Karel. That said, we did enjoy this with a delicious Undurraga Sibaris Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc back in the day when no one cared about this style of white wine from Chile and later with Luc's little find of Antinori Bianco Umbria at the local Albert Heijn in Berchem.
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