Cinco de Mayo and Chocolate! So many great recipes and such a natural combination.
Cinco de Mayo (The Fifth of May)
is a Mexican holiday celebrating the victory of the Mexican army over
the French at the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862. Puebla's signature dish
is
Mole Poblano--a Chocolate spicy stew--the national dish of Mexico. It's not sweet, even with the chocolate, since there are groundnuts, seeds, bitter chocolate and spices. There are so many varieties. Below are a few variations. Want to go the easiest route? Try Mole paste with Mexican Ibarra chocolate. You'll still want to add some chicken broth and tomato juice and maybe
some peanut butter, but it's quick-- or you can try one of these
recipes:
MOLES
Chicken Mole, my favorite
Mexican chocolate main dish, can be very complicated to make. Here's an easy recipe adapted from Paula
Deen for a quick Chicken Mole. o.k. it's not all that quick, but
faster than the traditional recipes.
Quick Chicken Mole
Ingredients
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 ounces Taza Chocolate Mexicano, chopped
1 (5-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), for garnish
White rice, for serving
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat
oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until
translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue to saute to toast and
develop flavor. Add diced tomatoes, peppers, chipotles, broth, peanut
butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and puree until
smooth.
Sear the chicken in a heavy bottomed hot saute pan over
medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Add to casserole dish,
cover with sauce and braise the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish
with pepitas and serve with white rice.
You can also use this mole dish with Enchiladas!
The following recipe is from
Kendall Jackson. Pair a Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Malbec with this.
Chicken Mole Poblano with Animal Crackers
For chicken:
1 whole chicken
3 quarts water
½ onion
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. oregano
Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a
simmer and cook for 1 hour or until chicken is done. Strain and reserve
the liquid and chicken.
For mole sauce:
4 Tbsp. rice oil (or other neutral flavored oil)
8 dried mulato chilies, stems and seeds removed
4 dried pasilla chilies, stems and seeds removed
4 dried ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed
2 dried cascabel or chipotle chilies, stems and seeds removed
12 almonds
¼ cup peanuts
3 garlic cloves
¼ large onion
½ plantain, diced
12 animal crackers
5 raisins
3 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
5 cups reserved chicken stock
2 slices bacon
½ bar (1½ oz.) Mexican chocolate (Ibarra)
In a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, add the oil and sauté
the chilies for approximately 3 minutes. Stir the chilies constantly,
being careful not to burn them. Using a slotted spoon, remove the
chilies and reserve.
Add the almonds and peanuts and cook for 2 minutes or until golden
brown. Add the garlic, onions and plantains and cook until golden brown,
approximately 3 minutes. Add the animal crackers and cook for 2 minutes
or until golden brown.
Add the raisins, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon and cook until
aromatic. Remove from the heat and place in a blender, add the chilies, 1
tablespoon toasted sesame seeds and the chicken stock. Purée until the
sauce is a smooth consistency.
In a small pan, cook the bacon until the fat has rendered. Remove the
bacon and all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan (bacon can be eaten
or reserved for another use). Add the chocolate to the pan. Once the
chocolate has dissolved, cook for 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add the
bacon fat and chocolate mixture to the purée and stir to combine.
To serve: Slice the chicken onto a platter and cover with mole sauce.
Garnish with remaining sesame seeds. Serve with Mexican rice and
tortillas on the side.
The extra mole sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months.
***
Here's a completely different mole recipe--this time for
WHITE Chocolate Mole with Animal Crackers.
Recipe from Judy Walker in the Arizona Republic a few years ago.
White Chocolate Molé with Animal Crackers
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 whole cloves
1 fresh poblano chile, seeded and chopped
2 fresh serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
1 small clove garlic
1/2 white Spanish onion, cut into chunks
5 animal crackers, toasted
1/4 cup sweet butter
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread peanuts, almonds and walnuts on a
jelly-roll pan. Toast in the oven, shaking the pan occasionally, until
the nuts are slightly colored and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.
In a blender, combine the nuts, water, cinnamon stick and cloves; blend
until nuts are very finely ground. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve
over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or rubber
spatula to release the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the
solids.
In the blender, combine the chiles, garlic, onion and nut liquid. Add
the animal crackers; puree until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh
sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or
rubber spatula to release the liquid. Discard the solids.
In a large saucepan, heat the butter. Stir in the nut-chile liquid.
Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan
occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is the consistency
of thick pea soup, about 15 minutes.
Stir in chocolate, salt and pepper until the chocolate is melted. Use immediately.
Note: The mole without the chocolate can be made ahead and
refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to a week. To serve, heat in a
saucepan and stir in the chocolate.
Makes about 1-1/2 cups, or 12 servings.
**
Here’s another
“Main Dish”—I know it’s really a dessert, but they’re tamales, after all, so I’m counting them as a main dish. This recipe for
Chocolate Tamales for Cinco de Mayo is from
Diana's Recipe Book. The tamales are easy to make and delicious.
CHOCOLATE TAMALES
Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 pound DARK chocolate, 75-85% cacao, chopped
1 pound butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 pounds corn flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
24 corn husks
Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Boil
the milk and add the chocolate. Stir constantly until chocolate is
completely melted. Add butter and sugar. Mix until smooth. Set
aside to cool.
Mix tcorn flour and baking powder together in bowl. Slowly add chocolate mixture and mix by hand for 10 minutes.
Grease 2 (12 cup) muffin pans and line with corn husks. Fill with
chocolate tamale mixture and bake for 20 minutes.
