Oaxacan Yellow Mole

This is one of the seven Moles of Oaxaca. It is said to be the easy one, mostly because it on consists of one type of chili. For the recipe I have taken inspiration from two of my heroes when it comes to Mexican cuisine. Rick Bayless and Diana Kennedy.

For the chilis the traditional way is to use only guajillos but some people also add a little ancho. I tried that.

I choose to have half tomatoes and half tomatillos. If you can’t get fresh tomatillos use only tomatoes instead. Hoja Santa leaves is also very hard to find. I substituted them with coriander instead.

I topped the mole with a spicy salsa with grilled onion, charred habanero, lime juice, oregano and salt.

The result was very good. Smooth taste with a nice, warm heat. A bit sour from the tomatillo.

You will need

• One whole chicken.
• Onion and garlic. Peeled and roughly chopped.
• Guajillos chili. Deveined and seeds removed.
• Anchos (optional). Seeds removed and deveined.
• Garlic. Unpeeled.
• Onion. Roughly chopped.
• Tomatoes.
• Fresh tomtillos (optional).
• Allspice.
• Cloves.
• Cumin.
• Dried oregano. Preferable Mexican.
• Tortilla masa. (As made for tortilla).
• Hoja Santa leaves. Substitute with fresh coriander.
• Green beans.
• Lard. (Substitute with vegetable shortening).

Do like this.

1. Cut the chicken into parts. Put the parts in the refrigerator. Put the carcass in a pan together with onion and garlic. Cover with water. Bring up to boil and let it simmer for about an hour.
2. Add salt to the stock and the reserved chicken parts. Cook until done. 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Fry the chilis in a dry skillet until they soften and get a little colour.
4. Cover the chilis with hot water and let them soak for about 20 minutes.
5. Fry the unpeeled garlic and onion in a dry, hot skillet until the soften and get a good charred colour. Peel the garlic.
6. Grill the tomatoes and tomatillos in a very hot oven until the get a nicely charred.
7. Grind the allspice, cloves, cumin and oregano.
8. Mix the chilis, tomatoes, onion, garlic, hoja Santa leaves and spices with some of the soaking water.
9. Put the chili mix through a sieve and cook it in vegetable oil for about 20 minutes until it thickens.
10. Mix tortilla masa with some of the chicken stock and sieve it into the mole. Let it cook for another 20 minutes. Add more chicken stock if it gets to thick . It should have the consistency of thick cream. Add salt to taste.
11. Mix the rest of the tortilla masa with some salt and lard until you have a smooth dough.
12. Make dumplings by making a small round ball in your hand and pressing in your index finger to make a hole.
13. Add the dumplings to the mole and let them simmer for about 20 minutes.
14. Take the cooked chicken and tear the meat into bite size pieces. Add them to the mole.
15. Cut the green beans into bite size pieces and quickly grill them a couple of minutes. Add the to the mole.
16. Serve the mole topped with coriander and the salsa.