Chicken Mole with Queso Fresco

This mole sauce will quickly become a staple in your kitchen! It's easy to make and versatile for use with other meat, vegetable or chicken dishes. Photo by Amy Robb.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 (3-pound) chicken, deboned and cut in half

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Salt and pepper, to taste

Queso fresco, for garnish

Steamed white rice, to serve

For mole

6 guajillo peppers

1 chile de arbol

1/4 white onion

2 cloves garlic

5 black peppercorns

10 cumin seeds

1 clove

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 slice white bread

1 corn tortilla (Chef Frankie prefers El Milagro brand)

Instructions

To make chicken: Preheat oven to 300 °F. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat, and sear chicken, skin side down, until skin is crispy and browned. Transfer chicken to a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and tender.

To make mole: Using scissors, cut the stems off the tops of the guajillo chiles and shake out the seeds. Remove the seeds from the chile de arbol.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat. Place the guajillo and chile de arbol in the dry, hot skillet and roast, turning occasionally, until chiles start to change color, about 3 minutes. Place chiles in a blender with onion, garlic, peppercorns, cumin, clove and chicken stock and process until smooth, then add bread and corn tortilla. Continue to process until mixture is completely smooth. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove all chile seeds and skins.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the puree and cook, stirring, until it comes to a boil. Lower heat to the lowest setting and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve: Top chicken with mole sauce and garnish with queso fresco. Serve with steamed white rice.