I love looking at the cellophane bags of chilies at the Mexican food section of the grocery store. They are so vividly full of possibility. And heat. That scared me off for a long time. Then, I tasted mole, and I learned in an instant just how wonderfully complex chilies could be. Hot, yes, but with a flavor that was also fruity and rich. There was certainly something very special about this ingredient.
When I started learning how to cook with these dried chilies, I think that a whole new world of Mexican cooking possibilities opened up to me. There is so much to enjoy and appreciate beyond the standard Taco Tuesday, not that TT isn’t wonderful too!
This dinner will require over an hour if you plan to make the stock from scratch, which is what I recommend, although, if you have less time, I’ll give a couple of recommendations for adapting for that as well.
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken “picnic pack” (4 drumsticks, 2 breasts)
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon dried herb blend
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon peppercorns
- 2 1/4 cups long grain rice
- 3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 2 large dried chili negro
- 1 large dried guajillo chili
- 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes (chopped canned is ok in the winter)
- 1 handful cilantro
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- lime
- tortilla chips
Step 1: Place the chicken legs in a large pot with carrot, 1/2 of the onion, celery, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and peppercorns. Cover with 8 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for an hour.
Step 2: Place the chicken breasts on a plate and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon dried herb blend. Rub the salt and herbs into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Step 3: Cook the rice according to package or rice cooker instructions.
Step 4: Tear up the chilies. If you will be feeding people whose palates are sensative to heat, remove the ribs from the chilies. Roughly chop the remaining onion half. Smash the garlic and remove its skin. Place 1 Tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for a minute or two before adding the chilies and the garlic. Cook until the chilies soften.
Step 5: After the stock has simmered for an hour, remove one cup of it and add it to the onion chili mixture. Bring it up to a simmer and then add the sesame seeds and cashews to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes to soften the nuts.
Step 6: Pour the nut mixture into a high-speed blender. Blend on medium until a thick paste forms. Taste it. This is the essence of your sauce. It is yummy!
Step 7: Remove the chicken drumsticks from the stock pot and set aside. Remove the vegetables from the stock and discard. Pour 2 cups of chicken broth into the pot in which you cooked the onions and chilies (and didn’t wash). Bring to a simmer and scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the onion bits. Whisk the chili paste into the broth until it forms a smooth thick sauce. Place the chicken breasts into the sauce and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 1 1/2 hours until the chicken is just done.
Step 8: While the chicken is cooking, make the pico de gallo. Chop the tomatoes finely. Fresh tomatoes are best, but if you can’t get good ones, use canned. Finely chop the cilantro and add to the tomatoes. Press or finely mince the garlic and add it to the tomatoes. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.
Step 9: Remove the meat from the drumsticks and add it to the sauce. Remove the breasts and slice them against the grain, then return the sliced chicken to the sauce. Serve the chicken on top of the rice with pico de gallo and tortilla chips on the side.
Gluten notes–this menu is gluten free.
Pressure Cooker Notes–If you need to speed things up, follow these instructions. Start your rice. Use your instant pot to make the stock. Cook chicken legs, carrot, celery, onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in 6 cups of water at high pressure for 20 minutes. Add the chicken breasts and cook an additional 10 minutes. Rapidly release the pressure once the time has elapsed. While the stock is going, make the onion-chili paste, using boxed chicken stock. Also, use this time to make the pico de gallo. Finish the recipe as indicated above.
