Mole Poblano

TURKEY WITH CHOCOLATE CHILLI SAUCE (Mexico’s national dish!)

Ingredients

Mole PoblanoFor the Mole:
6 medium dried mulato chillies
3 medium dried ancho chillies
4 medium dried pasilla chillies
1 chipotle chilli
½ cup cilantro seeds
½ almonds
½ cup peanuts
½ cup raisins
5 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup sesame seeds
1 ½ ounce Mexican chocolate
4 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
2 litres chicken broth
Vegetable oil or lard

For the meat:
2 large turkey breasts
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Garnish:
2 radishes
1 large onion
1 handful cilantro
1 handful of sesame seeds

Method for the Mole Sauce
(prepare 1 day in advance)

1. Remove the seeds and stem from all of the chillies. Heat some lard or oil and quickly fry the chilies on both sides. taking care not to burn them. Put the chillies into a bowl, cover with water, and leave to stand for a few hours.
2. Blend the chillies with a few tablespoons of water until smooth and cook the chilli puree over a medium flame for 10 minutes. Set aside.
3. Put the toasted, sesame seeds and all the rest of the spices into a grinder and mix together. Add the garlic cloves.
4. Melt 3 tablespoons of lard in a frying pan and fry the raisins briefly. In the same pan, fry the almonds and peanuts until browned . Add all the ingredients together and blend the spices, raisins and almonds together.They should form a smooth paste and may need a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth to blend effectively.
5. Add the blended mixture to the chilli sauce and cook over a flame for about five minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Break the Mexican chocolate into pieces and add it to the mixture. Continue cooking the mole for a further 15 minutes.
7. Add the broth and continue cooking the mole for around 45 minutes. Add salt if necessary, and if desired some extra chocolate, to taste.

Method for the meat:

1. Season the turkey breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan and sear the breasts skin side down first. Once the turkey is crisp and golden on both sides, remove from heat and place for 15 minutes in an oven to cook the meat through.
2. Slice the turkey and pour over the mole sauce. Garnish with sliced onions, radish, sesame seeds and some sprigs of cilantro.