Day 72 Mexico

Home cooks all over America tend to churn out Tacos and Quesadillas on a regular basis and this is no accident. Even though Italian and regional American cuisines are popular with home cooks there is something about the intense and colorful food of Mexico that titillates our taste buds and keeps us coming back for more. It has become familiar and easy with practise and the variety keeps us from getting bored. I personally love their chocolate and spice combination and decided on the Chicken Mole without any hesitation. Even the long list of ingredients did not deter me - I could almost taste it as I read the recipe !

Chicken breasts were cleaned, trimmed, seasoned with salt and pepper, fried in smoking hot fat and set aside. White onion, tomatilloes, ripe tomatoes, and garlic were rubbed with olive oil and roasted. Cumin seeds, pepper corns, fennel, cloves and cinnamon were dry roasted and ground . Pasilla, Guajillo and Ancho peppers were seeded, rehydrated and ground to a paste. Dried raisins, prunes and apricots were simmered in red wine. Corn Tortillas were charred over an open flame. Toasted almonds were ground and set aside. I also got out my homemade chicken broth and some unsweetened chocolate to complete the mise-en-place.

All the ingredients were blended to a smooth paste (except the chocolate and broth), poured into a heavy bottom pan with salt and simmered for about an hour on a very low flame. It had to be stirred frequently to prevent sticking. After that, I mixed in the chocolate and broth and poured the sauce over the chicken breasts . This was simmered some more until the chicken breasts were cooked through. Rich and decadent is the only way to describe this recipe, the sauce sweet and hot by turns with the aroma of spices in every bite. High maintenance? definitely- but well worth it!

Making my way to the US- Hawaii's up first...