Chicken Mole

I have always been intrigued by the idea of a mole sauce because I simply love chocolate, and adore chili. To combine these two amazing ingredients into the same dish is genius. I had to test the concept and I absolutely loved the result. 

Begin by cutting up two chicken breasts into strips (cross grain) and tossing with 1 tsp -1 Tbsp of cayenne powder in a stainless or glass bowl, depending on taste. Stir fry chicken on high heat in oil just until cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan add another 1 - 2 Tbps of olive oil and stir in with a spatula the following combination of spices:

• 2 Tablespoons mild chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• A few shakes of cayenne pepper if desired

Stir spices until blackened and smoking.

Now for the chocolate. I do not keep bakers chocolate in the kitchen but I always have cocoa. To substitute solid chocolate for cocoa replace 1 ounce of chocolate with 3 Tbsp of cocoa and 1 Tbsp of butter. Reduce heat to low and stir butter and cocoa into smoking spice mixture until combined then add one 796 ml can of stewed tomatoes (I prefer low sodium, diced), return heat to medium and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. 
Fold in cooked chicken to Tomato mixture and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with sea salt to taste.

I served this delicious dish with Tomato Quinoa. To prepare this simple side replace the water requirement 1:1 with tomato juice, strained from a can of low sodium stewed tomatoes. Cook quinoa according to product instructions. With 5 minutes remaining cooking time top the steaming quinoa with one sliced jalapeno pepper then cover and continue cooking. Once cooked, toss with a fork and serve. Try it!