Chicken with Mole Verde from Puebla
The town of Puebla, a serene and peaceful oasis about one hour south from the congestion and commotion of Mexico City, is known for its charming inns that serve a rich array of traditional dishes. The most famous mole (the word is from a pre-Columbian language of Mexico and means a sauce that is blended with more than one chile or ingredient) originated in the kitchen of a large, wealthy Puebla convent with chocolate as its most acclaimed ingredient. But there are six other moles from the region. This filling, the green mole that uses all fresh herbs and fresh green chiles, is one of the simpler ones and the one that I usually eat for breakfast at the market—one huge bowl of chicken mole verde with fresh warm corn tortillas. Admittedly, it is a little time-consuming, but your effort will be rewarded with enough mole sauce to use for these tacos and many others. Leftover mole will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. This sauce makes a tasty complement to chicken, turkey, fish, and pork.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 5 quarts of mole verde, and 12 tacos
Ingredients
Mole Verde Sauce
Chicken Filling
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the mole, cut the prepared poblano chiles into 1/4-inch-thick strips (rajas); set aside along with the serrano and jalapeño chiles.
Step 2
Fill a large bowl with ice water and have ready. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the husked tomatillos and boil 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. With a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos to the ice-water bath; let cool.
Step 3
In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the diced onion just until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Add the stock, prepared poblano chiles, serrano chiles, jalapeño chiles, garlic, salt, sugar, and coriander and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened and coats a wooden spoon, about 20 minutes. Stir in the shredded lettuce, hoja santa, cilantro, and parsley, and cook 5 more minutes.
Step 4
Puree the mixture in a blender and pass it through a medium-mesh sieve. Refry the sauce: In a large, heavy nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the sauce, remove from the heat, and stir to blend. Add the ground pumpkin seeds to thicken the sauce. If the sauce is too thick and becoming pasty, stir in a little hot water to thin it out. Keep warm.
Step 5
To prepare the filling, in a large saucepot, add all the ingredients except the chicken breasts. Cook over medium-low heat until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes. Decrease the heat to low, add the chicken breasts, and gently simmer until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 25 minutes. It’s important to let the chicken cool in the liquid to keep it more moist. When cool enough to handle, shred the cooled chicken with your hands into a bowl.
Step 6
In a saucepan, add 3 cups of the mole verde and the shredded chicken and reheat over medium-low heat.
Step 7
Remove from the heat and serve immediately or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.
Step 8
To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with salsa. Grab, fold, and eat right away.
Step 9
Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with salsa, fold, and eat right away.
