Mole, Oaxacan Yellow: Amarillo
Ingredients
For the chicken or beef
- 1 3 ½ – 4 pound chicken or an equal amount of stewing beef
- 1 celery stalk with some leaves
- 1 carrot, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, cut into chunks
- 4 large cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- salt to taste
For the sauce
- 6 chilcostle chiles or ½ ounce of chihuacles amarillos or guajillos, seeded and deveined
- 2 ancho chiles, seeded and deveined
- ½ pound tomatoes, charred and skinned
½ pound tomatillos, husks removed
- 1 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
½ head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 3 whole cloves
- 3 whole allspice
- 3 peppercorns
- 1/8 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon lard or corn oil
- 4 ounces prepared masa (corn dough) or ½ cup masa harina mixed with ¼ cup water
- 4 cups strained broth from chicken or beef
- 3 small, fresh hoja santa leaves, if using chicken (see NOTE, below)
- salt to taste
Directions
- Place the chicken or beef, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, bay leaves and salt to taste in a stockpot with 4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until the chicken or beef is tender. Let the chicken or beef cool in the broth, strain broth and set aside.
- Toast the chiles just until the point of fragrance, taking care not to burn them. Cover them with 1 ½ cups of hot broth to cover for 20 minutes. Puree the chiles and their soaking liquid in a blender. Pass the puree through a food mill and set aside.
- Boil the tomatoes and tomatillos in 1 cup broth until the tomatillos soften. Place the tomatoes, tomatillos, broth, onion and garlic in a blender and puree. Pass through a food mill and set aside.
- Toast the cloves, allspice, peppercorn and cumin seeds lightly on a comal or dry griddle, grind in a spice mill.
- Heat the lard or corn oil in a heavy stockpot or cazuela, add the chile puree and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomato mixture and the ground spices, stir to blend well and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
- Blend the masa or masa harina mixture well with 1 cup of the broth and add to the mole. Cook, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes. Add 2-2 ½ cups of broth to thin the mole to the consistency of heavy cream. Add the whole hoja santa leaves to the mole.
- Serve the mole in bowls, with sauce generously ladled over the pieces of chicken or beef. Accompany with warm tortillas.