Pollo en Mole Poblano

Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium heat until it almost smokes. Working one or two at a time, press each dried chile flat against the hot surface with a spatula for 10–15 seconds per side. They will puff slightly, release an intoxicating roasty-chocolate aroma, and turn a shade darker — not black, not soot, just a shade. Transfer each toasted chile immediately to a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Weight them down with a small plate and soak for 20 minutes until completely softened and pliable.

Drain the soaked chiles, reserving the soaking liquid. In a blender, combine the chiles, fried bread, toasted pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, charred tomatoes and onion, peeled charred garlic, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, peppercorns and dark chocolate. Add 200 ml of the warm chicken stock. Blitz at high speed for 3 full minutes, scraping down twice, until completely smooth — the paste should have the consistency of thick hummus. For a silkier mole, pass through a medium sieve.

Heat the lard in a deep, wide pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully pour or spoon the mole paste into the hot fat — it will spatter and spit violently as the moisture hits the oil. Fry the paste, stirring and scraping constantly, for 5–8 minutes. This is the most important step: frying drives off water, deepens the colour from brown to nearly black, concentrates the flavour and marries the fat with the solids into a unified paste that will later emulsify with the stock.

Add the warm chicken stock to the fried mole paste in three additions, whisking thoroughly after each to fully incorporate before adding the next. Season with salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes until the sauce reduces slightly and the individual flavours knit into something unified, complex and rounded. Taste: mole should be bitter (chile), sweet (chocolate and dried fruit), earthy (spices), with heat in the back of the throat — adjust with a pinch more salt or a small square of chocolate.

Nestle the raw chicken thighs into the mole sauce, skin-side up. The sauce should come about two-thirds of the way up the chicken. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover loosely with a lid slightly ajar, and cook for 35–40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and beginning to pull from the bone. Remove the lid and simmer 10 more minutes to caramelize the exposed skin. Taste the sauce one final time and adjust salt. Let the pot rest off the heat for 10 minutes before serving.