El Tricolor, Mexico’s national football team, is among the only three teams—including Brazil and Germany—to make it out of the group stages over the last six FIFA World Cup competitions. This year in Russia, they’ll be playing Germany, South Korea and Sweden in the initial group stages for a chance to better their best finish: reaching the quarterfinals.
In addition to corn and chilli peppers, other ingredients native to Mexican cuisine include tomatoes, squashes, avocado, cocoa and vanilla. Mole, a food staple, is a sauce made from sautéed onions and garlic, exotic spices, ground nuts and simmered with bittersweet chocolate. It makes a tasty topping for many dishes.
Chicken with ‘Cheat’s’ Mole Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
Salt and pepper, to taste
500g boneless chicken thighs
2 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tin tomato sauce
120ml chicken broth
40g chocolate chips
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Preparation
1. Season chicken. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining oil, garlic, chilli powder, cumin and cinnamon to the pan. Season and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce, broth, chocolate chips and peanut butter, stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.
3. Lower heat to medium-low, return the chicken to the pan and coat with the sauce. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.
