Ingredients:
Chicken:
- 2.5 pounds of skinless chicken legs
- 1 large white onion
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 teaspoon salt
Mole Sauce:
- 10 dried Chile Guajillo peppers washed and with the stems removed
- 4 dried Chile Ancho peppers washed and with the stems removed
- 3 dried Chile Pasilla peppers washed and with the stems removed
- 5 large Roma tomatoes each cut into four pieces
- 1 large white onion sliced
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 5 dried pitted prunes
- 2 tortillas toasted until crunchy
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or you can use the chicken broth from the cooked chicken legs
- 1 tablet of Abuelita chocolate or about 3 ounces of Mexican chocolate ,or ¾ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips*
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
Directions:
Cook the chicken:
- Add the chicken, the whole onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and 8 cups of water to a large pot and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. Add a few extra cups of water if the water level gets too low.
- Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside then strain the broth and save it for later.
Prepare the Mole sauce
- While the chicken is cooking, heat the oven to 475 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with sides with nonstick aluminum foil.
- Add the cleaned Guajillo, Ancho and Pasilla peppers to the pan and toast them for 6 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
- Remove the pan from the oven and set aside while you fill a large bowl with warm water.
- Soak the chilis in the water for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Drain the chilis from the water and set aside.
- While the chilis are soaking, roast the tomatoes and sliced onion on the same baking sheet for 20 minutes, or until the bottoms of the tomatoes and onions turn a dark brown or black color.
- Add tomatoes, onions, 8-10 garlic cloves, prunes, toasted tortillas, 2 teaspoons salt, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, and 3 cups of chicken broth (use the leftover from the chicken or store-bought broth) to a blender or food processor. Blend for 3 minutes or until smooth.
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place over low heat (use the same one that you cooked the chicken in).
- Strain the mole sauce through a fine mesh strainer directly into the pot, leaving about a cup of sauce in the blender.
- Add the chilis to the blender along with at least 3 more cups of chicken broth or more as needed. Blend for 3-4 minutes, or until smooth. Strain the sauce through the mesh strainer directly into the pot and stir to combine.
- Bring the heat up to medium and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until it reaches your desired thickness. The longer it simmers, the thicker it will be.
- Add in the chocolate, peanut butter and sugar and stir until dissolved. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt or sugar as needed.
- Place chicken in a large shallow bowl or deep platter and pour the mole sauce over. Serve with Mexican rice, garnished with fresh cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.
Enjoy !!