A friend on the east coast sent me a jar of mole poblano that he made, along with a few suggestions for my post.
- Before you think mole = rodent, pronounce “Mole” as “moe-lay”
- The national dish of Mexico is ‘Pollo en mole’ pronounced, POY-yo en MOE-lay
Thanks for the suggestion that might keep people reading. While I think I’ve been served a mole at a dinner party once, it was not formally named… but the earthy taste is pretty distinct. Mole is traditionally a Mexican dish (and apparently the national dish) served with warm tortillas… and mole’s themselves are so varied, you’d likely never try the same one twice unless you are making it, or going to the same place to eat it. I am hooked, and will now try my hand at making a mole myself one day.
Until then, here is the ‘Pollo en mole poblano’ I made with his mole along with my process.
Ingredients
- 1 quart mole poblano that someone else made 🙂
- 1 whole chicken (4-5 lbs)
- Corn tortillas (optional)
- Basmati rice (optional)
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- Cilantro (optional)
Process
I cut the chicken up separating the legs, thighs, wings and breasts and laid it all in a casserole dish. I sprinkled kosher salt on that and baked at 350 for bout 25-30 minutes.
I removed the chicken from the oven, and removed some of the broth that was in it (since there was a lot) Then, I covered it with most of the mole. At this time, you can put it back in and bake it, but since I was prepping dinner for the next day, I covered it and let it sit in the fridge over night.
The next day, I baked uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes. While it was cooking, I prepared the rice as directed… and heated my corn tortillas in the oven 5 minutes before the casserole came out. Using an instant read thermometer, the chicken should read 150-160 F depending on your preference.
In a bowl, I added the rice, ladled the chicken mole on top, making sure to get a lot of juice in there too. And garnished with a corn tortilla and sesame seeds. I read about adding cilantro, but since this was my first mole dish, I wanted to taste it without first and get more creative later on. Needless to say, I’m a new lover of this fare.
