Sunday, March 9, 2008

Chicken with Peanut Sauce

This is a Mexican dish. It takes a bit of time to make but is well
worth the effort. Sometimes we make it and leave out the
chicken because the sauce is so good. There are layers
and layers of flavor each one better than the next.
You'll need a baguette to go with this. The recipe is from
Food and Wine April 2000.

2 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
boiling water
1 cup raw peanuts, shelled & skinned
(once I used dry roasted, I washed them off and didn't pan roast them)
2 large tomatoes, coarsley chopped
1 hard roll, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, coarsley chopped
2 canned chipotle chiles in Adobo
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 3 1/2 lb chicken cut in 8 pieces (we use boneless chicken breasts!!!!!)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons red wne vinegar

Soak ancho chiles in boiling water
till softened (15 minutes). Meanwhile in a large
deep skillet, toast the peanuts over moderately
low heat, stirring constantly, until golden
(15 minutes) Put on a plate and cool.
Drain anchos and put in food processor.
Add peanuts, tomatoes, hard roll, onion,
chipotles, garlic and sugar. Puree until smooth.

Combine cinnamon and salt and sprinkle over
chicken. Heat the oil in skillet. Brown the chicken
till golden about 6 minutes per side. Put on a plate.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the
skillet. Add the peanut sauce and cook over moderate heat,
stirring constantly, until very thick (15 minutes) . Don't
skimp on the time, I think
this is the most important step.
Add chicken stock, wine, and vinegar and
bring to a simmer. Nestle the pieces of chicken
in the sauce and simmer over moderately low heat,
turning occasionaly, until cooked through (25 minutes).
I actually cook it a lot longer until it becomes
very tender.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

your dog is adorable and this dish sounds so goood!

Unknown said...

your dog is adorable and this dish sounds so goood!