ilsl: Pollo con Mole Verde & Frijoles con Puerco

You're never going to believe this, but I just spent an hour crafting this post. It was funny, it was insightful. It was full of all the things you'd (hopefully) expect out of me, and yes, stupid wordpress lost the whole damned thing when I hit save. This bodes badly for today…

Anyway, I included recipes and banter, links and knowledge, but alas, it's all gone now and I have to go to work, so it'll have to wait til tonight. *sigh*

Joe, I hope you'll wait for my entry to your "I Loathe Sandra Lee" challenge, because, this was really good!

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Annnnnd, we're back folks! Here goes stab number two at this post!

Aside from wanting to have a great entry for the "I Loathe Sandra Lee" challenge, I really wanted to challenge myself with this meal. We live about 200 feet from possibly the best, most authentic Mexican joint in NYC, El Maguey y la Tuna. My favorite dish there is the pozole, but anything in their mole verde comes in a very close second. The sauce is silky, seductive, spicy and highly, highly addictive. So I decided that for this challenge I would try to replicate their sauce.

But, of course, you can't live on mole verde alone, and I don't think Sandra Lee would know what a tomatillo is even if you gagged her with it, so I had to do something more on Dandy Sandy's level. One of the May "recipes" was for chorizo "tacos". Mmmmmmm… chorizo. Porky, fatty, spicy goodness. How could anyone resist a black bean and chorizo stew? See? You're already drooling.

And yet, mole verde and some beans, well, that's still not quite a meal is it? What about some chicken. And, wait, there's beans, where's the rice? Well, ummm… here's where we get to the dirty little secret part of this posting.

Hi, my name is Ann, and I cannot cook rice (unless it's risotto, for some reason, I can totally cook risotto). My rice generally comes out as if I had intended to make stuck pot rice. Or it comes out overcooked (yes, you can overcook rice) and since my kitchen is itty wee bitty, and a gadget free zone, well, a rice cooker is obviously out of the question.

So, what is a girl to do when making an authentic, tasty, 100% homemade Mexican meal? You walk 200 feet from your apartment and get some authentic tasty 100% homemade rice made by real Mexicans. I know, I know this is TOTALLY something Sandra Lee would do, but, I'm sorry! I. Just. Cannot. Cook. Rice!

Now that my culinary foibles are out in the open I hope we can all move on so I can tell you how kick ass this meal was! My mole verde, while not a perfect replication was insanely tasty. The chicken, from Dines Farms, was the most moist, wonderful poultry I've ever cooked in my own kitchen.

And, let's talk about the beans. Holy frijole! Man, they were SO good. The flavors were so subtle, sexy and sophisticated. Seriously. You've gotta try this the next time you're hankering for some beans and rice and have a little time on your hands. I promise, you'll thank me!

Head below the jump for the recipes!
Mole Verde

prep time: 30 minutes ~ cooking time: 2-3 hours

• 1 Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 head Garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 6 Jalapenos, seeds in, roughly chopped (wear gloves when working with chilis!)
• 14-18 Tomatillos de-husked and roughly chopped (I'd keep the gloves on while working with these puppies, too. The texture (slimy and sticky) totally skeeves me out, but maybe it's just me)
• 6 Limes, juiced
• Salt & Pepper

Glug some olive oil into a small stock pot set over a low to medium flame. Add the onion and allow to sweat a few minutes. Add the garlic, stir and cook sweat a few minutes. Add the jalapenos. Watch out for some fumes from the jalapenos. Depending on your ventilation, they can irritate your eyes and throat. Allow the mixture to cook until the onions are just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.
Add the tomatillos, lime juice and salt & pepper to taste. Don't be tempted to add water, the tomatillos will release quite a bit of their own. Stir and partially cover. Allow to cook for about an hour stirring occasionally.

Once the tomatillos have completely lost their shape and melted into the sauce and are beginning to stick to the bottom of the pot, turn the heat off and puree the whole shebang either with an immersion blender, cuisnart or regular blender. Return the puree to the pot and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, over a very low flame partially covered about 30 minutes.

The sauce can hold at this stage or be stored in a container in the fridge.

Frijoles con Pureco

prep time: 20 minutes ~ cooking time: 1 hour

• 2 Chorizo sausages, chopped into tidbits
• 1/2 head Garlic peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 Jalapenos, seeds in and cut into rings
• 1/2 cup something Alcoholic (I would have used beer, or even wine, but, I had neither, so I used some verjus which, if you've got it, I highly recommend, I think it was one of the reasons the taste was so incredibly good)
• 1 Lime, juiced
• 1 can Black Beans very well rinsed (I know, I know, next time I'll soak my own beans, but I just didn't have the time!)
• 1/4 cup Stock
• 1 1/2 tbsps dried Oregano
• handful Cilantro washed, picked and chopped

Heat a glug of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chorizo and saute until the sausage starts releasing some of its fat and color into the oil. Turn the heat down a bit and add the garlic and jalapenos. Stir and cook until the garlic begins to soften, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat up again and add the something alcoholic and lime juice. Allow to cook down slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the beans, stock and oregano. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat way down, cover and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour or until the beans have just started to soften and color the cooking liquid. If the beans are too liquidy remove the lid and allow the liquid to cook down.

To Serve:

Rinse and pat dry two boneless chicken thighs. Salt and pepper them heavily and sear over high heat in a skillet. Heat your oven to 350°F. Spoon some mole verde into a small roasting pan. Nestle the seared thighs into the sauce and pop them into the oven. Allow to cook about 15 minutes or until the juices run clear when pricked with a knife

Place the thighs on a plate to rest for a few minutes and discard the sauce used for baking.

Serve the chicken over rice and beans and smothered in mole verde and garnished with a dollop of happy cow creme fraiche.