hoja santa

Amarillito Mole with Chicken recipe from Pati&#x27;s Mexican Table Season 1, Episode 10 “Cinnamon”

Amarillito Mole with Chicken

ancho chiles (stemmed and seeded)

guajillo chiles (stemmed and seeded)

Roma tomato

garlic

cloves

cinnamon

oregano

tsp salt

tsp black pepper (ground)

vegetable oil

chicken pieces (with skin and bones)

onion

chicken broth

hoja

Corn Masa Dumplings (optional (recipe in same episode!))

On an already hot comal or dry skillet set over medium heat, toast the chiles for about 10 to 15 seconds per side. They will become more pliable and release their aroma. Remove the chiles from the pan and place them in a cooking pot along with the tomatillos, tomato and garlic cloves. Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, until they are soft and cooked. Transfer to a blender along with 2 whole cloves, ground cinnamon, oregano, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Gently add the chicken pieces skin side down first, and brown on each side for 3 to 4 minutes. Incorporate the onion and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until soft and translucent. Pour the reserved pureed sauce on top, add the hojas santas if using, and cook until it has seasoned and thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and keep at a steady simmer on medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the masa dumplings one by one to the pan. Cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked and the mole thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Among the seven most well-known mole varieties, tomatillo-based mole verde is one of the easiest to prepare because of its use of fresh chiles and herbs rather than dried chiles and spices. Romaine, cilantro and epazote get blended into the mole of seared chiles, garlic, onion and toasted nuts and seeds to make an earthy sauce. Fresh epazote and hoja santa add depth of flavor, with unique notes of pungency and anise, but they can be tough to find, so dried options can be used. This mole can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months, ready for weeknights when all you want to do is warm up some tortillas and mushrooms for a perfect taco, or you could serve it over <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016674-mexican-rice">Mexican rice</a> with roasted cauliflower.  

Mole Verde

tomatillos (about 1 pound), peeled and washed

poblano

½ medium yellow onion, quartered

serrano chiles

garlic cloves,

brown (unhulled) sesame seeds

raw pepitas

almonds

bay leaves

romaine lettuce leaves

cilantro, torn

epazote leaves

medium fresh or dried hoja santa leaf (optional)

vegetable stock, plus more if needed

neutral cooking oil (such as grapeseed)

kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

Seared mushrooms, tofu steaks, roasted cauliflower and/or Mexican rice

Add the tomatillos, poblano, onion, serrano chiles and garlic to a large preheated comal or cast-iron skillet set over medium heat. Cook everything until lightly charred and soft on all sides, about 20 minutes. The poblano should take the longest to cook, while the garlic cloves will be done in about 5 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a dry small to medium skillet over medium. Once warmed, toast the sesame seeds, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the toasted seeds to a large bowl and set aside. 

Toast the pepitas in the same skillet, stirring constantly, until golden, popped and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add them to the bowl with sesame seeds. 

Toast the almonds in the same skillet, stirring constantly, until lightly seared and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add them to the bowl with the seeds. 

Toast the bay leaves and cloves until the leaves lightly brown and the cloves become fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add to the same bowl with the seeds. 

Stem and seed the charred chiles, and add them along with the remaining charred ingredients and the toasted ingredients to a blender. Add the romaine, cilantro, epazote, hoja santa (if using) and 2 ½ cups vegetable stock. Blend until almost smooth yet slightly lumpy and textured. Use more of the vegetable stock as needed to smooth out the mixture. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you may need to blend in two batches, adding equal amounts of the wet and dry ingredients to each batch.

Heat a large, deep pot over medium-low. Once warmed, add the oil. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, carefully add the mole from the blender. There will be some splatter. Stir in the salt and simmer the mole for 15 to 20 minutes, until the flavors meld together, stirring occasionally to make sure the mole doesn't burn at the bottom of the pot.

Serve with seared mushrooms, tofu steaks or roasted cauliflower, paired with Mexican rice. Extra mole can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

Hoja Santa Tetelas with Almond Crema

masa harina

water

salt

white onion,

lemon

Cooking oil oil

Cover almonds with boiling water and let soak for 15 minutes. Once they have soaked for 15 minutes remove the skin from each almond. 

Sauté onion and whole garlic cloves in a skillet with oil until lightly browned. 

Place almonds in the blender with lemon juice, salt, sautéed onion, garlic cloves, water and blend on high for 1 minute. If you need a bit more liquid add 1-2 tbsp more of filtered water. Should be super smooth!

In a bowl, combine the masa harina and a pinch of salt. Add in warm water a little at a time (start with a cup, then add a half cup, then the final half cup), mixing with your hands.

Once all the water is in, knead by hand for 7-10 minutes. If the mixture sticks to your hands, add a little more masa harina.

Cover the masa with a damp paper towel and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Using a tortilla press with two plastic liner sheets, place a leaf of hoja santa atop the bottom liner. Take a golf ball sized portion of masa and press on top of the leaf to form a tortilla, about ¼” thick.

Remove the top plastic liner and add a dollop of almond crema to the center of the tortilla.

Using the bottom plastic liner, fold the tortilla from the upper left diagonally towards the center, then the upper right towards the center, and finally from the bottom up towards the center to create a sealed triangle.

Lightly drizzle oil onto a pan set over medium-heat and cook the tetela for about 2 minutes on each side.

Garnish with salsa and avocado and enjoy!

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Amarillito Mole with Chicken

Mole Verde

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Top 3 hoja santa recipes from across the web

The most viewed hoja santa recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Amarillito Mole with Chicken

Mole Verde

Hoja Santa Tetelas with Almond Crem...

The most viewed hoja santa recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine