Almendrado with Chicken recipe from Pati Jinich’s Mexican Table Season 6, Episode 7 – The Art of Mole

Serves 4-5

patijinich.com

INGREDIENTS
1/2 large white onion cut into pieces
6 cloves garlic unpeeled
2 pounds (about 7 or 8) roma tomatoes
5 whole cloves
12 black peppercorns
1 1-inch stick ceylon cinnamon or canela
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3-pound chicken cut into serving pieces (wings removed for later use and breasts cut in half)
1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
2 cups chicken broth divided
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup black raisins
1/2 cup manzanilla olives stuffed with pimiento sliced
1/4 cup capers chopped
1/2 cup pickled jalapeño rajas or slices

INSTRUCTIONS
Place onion, garlic and tomatoes under the broiler, or on an already heated skillet, griddle or comal set over medium heat. Roast or char for about 10 minutes, flipping in between, until ingredients are completely charred, cooked and mushy. Set aside and peel the garlic cloves when cool enough to handle.

In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast the cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick for a couple minutes, moving and flipping them around to toast evenly. Set aside. Toast the oregano for 10 to 15 seconds and remove from the heat.

In the jar of a blender, place the charred onion, peeled garlic and charred tomatoes, along with the tops from the whole cloves (discard the stems), the peppercorns, cinnamon and oregano. Puree until completely smooth.

Heat the oil in a large casserole set over medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Season the chicken with the salt and brown the chicken pieces for 2 to 3 minutes per side. You may need to do this in batches in order to not to crowd the casserole. Once you have removed all the chicken, immediately pour the tomato sauce into the hot oil and cover, as it will splatter. Reduce heat to medium.

Add a cup of chicken broth to the blender and puree for a few seconds to get all the remaining thick sauce out of the blender, pour into the simmering sauce and cover again. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Incorporate the remaining cup of chicken broth, almonds, raisins, olives and capers. Add the browned chicken pieces, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 20 more minutes.

Remove the lid and add the pickled jalapeño slices. Increase heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes, allowing all the flavors to blend and the sauce to thicken. Serve with rice.

The Prawn Curry with Darkened Cinnamon recipe calls for cinnamon sticks that are broken in pieces and toasted. Then grind them up to look like pepper.

Serves 4

splendidtable.com

INGREDIENTS
3 sticks cinnamon
2 teaspoons Madras Curry Powder
6 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 slices fresh ginger (each about the size of a quarter), finely chopped
1 pound large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined, but tails left on
2 tablespoons coconut or canola oil
1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh curry (or cilantro) leaves
2 teaspoons black peppercorns, coarsely cracked
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot (holding your palm close to the base, you should feel the heat within 5 seconds), break up the cinnamon sticks into smaller pieces (for an even toast) and throw them in the skillet. Toast, stirring the pieces constantly, or shaking the skillet very often, until they darken further and smell incredibly fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer them to a spice grinder (or clean coffee grinder), and allow the pieces to cool, about 5 minutes. Pulverize the cinnamon to the texture of finely ground black pepper.

Combine the cinnamon, curry powder, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl; add the shrimp and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil appears to shimmer, add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping, about 30 seconds. Immediately add the shrimp in a single layer, and sear them for about 30 seconds on each side.

Shake the coconut milk well and pour it in. Add the curry leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Bring the curry to a boil and continue to cook until the shrimp curl and turn salmon in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a serving platter. Keep warm.

Continue to cook the sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the shrimp and serve.

In this Oxtail and White Sweet Potato Stew, a red wine braise, complete with other mulling ingredients like fresh orange and whole spices, makes the oxtails fall-apart tender and flavorful. The longer the braise, the better.

Serves 4-6

foodandwine.com

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds meaty oxtails
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 jalapeño, chopped
2 cups dry red wine
4 cups veal or beef stock
2 cups water
3 oranges, quartered
12 parsley sprigs
6 thyme sprigs
3 cinnamon sticks
3 dried bay leaves

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large enameled cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the olive oil. Season the oxtails with salt and pepper, and add half of them to the pot. Cook over moderately high heat until the oxtails are browned all over, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and brown the remaining oxtails.

Add the sweet potatoes to the pot and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes just begin to soften and brown, about 5 minutes. Add the jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, and cook until the wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the veal stock, 2 cups water, oranges, herb sprigs, cinnamon, and bay leaves, and bring to a simmer. Return the oxtails to the pot; cover and transfer to the oven. Braise until the meat is very tender, about 3 hours.

Discard the oranges, herb sprigs, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Skim off and discard any fat, and season with salt and pepper before serving.