Name: Chicken in Green Mole
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 500 g Chicken, bone-in pieces preferred; 300 g Tomatillos, husked and rinsed; 1 Poblano Peppers, roasted, peeled, and seeded; ⅓ cup Pumpkin Seeds, toasted; ½ Onion, roughly chopped; 3 clove Garlic, peeled; 1 Jalapeño Pepper, stem removed; ½ cup Coriander Leaves, chopped; 1 tbsp Epazote, chopped; ½ cup Lettuce, roughly chopped, for body; 1½ tbsp Neutral Oil, for searing and cooking sauce; ½ tsp Ground Cumin, for seasoning; ½ tsp Dried Oregano, crumbled; 1 tsp Salt, adjust to taste; ¼ tsp Black Peppercorns, freshly ground; 1½ cup Water, for blending and simmering

1 hrtotal

Prep 20 min · Cook 40 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Medium

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Method

Simmer the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeño in some of the measured water until softened.
Blend the softened vegetables with roasted poblano, pumpkin seeds, fresh coriander, epazote, lettuce, cumin, oregano, and enough water to make a smooth sauce.
Season the chicken with salt and black pepper, then sear it in the measured oil until lightly browned.
Pour the green mole sauce over the chicken and add the remaining measured water as needed.
Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickens into a glossy green coating.
Adjust salt and serve hot.

How to tell it's done

The sauce should be thick, smooth, and green, coating the chicken without becoming pasty.

Getting it right

Tip

Toast the pumpkin seeds gently; burnt seeds can make the green mole taste bitter.

What to serve it with

Serve with Mexican red rice, warm tortillas, or simple beans.

Common mistakes

The green sauce turns dull olive.: Add the coriander, epazote and lettuce to the blender raw, at the end, and do not boil the sauce hard once they are in. Green mole loses its colour to heat faster than almost any other sauce.
The sauce tastes bitter.: Toast the pumpkin seeds gently and stop while they are still pale. Once they darken they turn bitter, and that bitterness carries right through the mole.

Substitutions

Epazote — If epazote is unavailable, omit it rather than replacing it with a strong unrelated herb.

Storing and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge and freezes for two months, though the colour dulls either way. Reheat gently. The sauce can be made two days ahead and the chicken cooked in it fresh, which keeps the green much brighter.

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Ingredients