Mexican chilli and chocolate chicken

This Mexican chilli and chocolate chicken dish should not be confused with the better known mole sauces that contain some of the same ingredients, but are cooked in a different way. Rather, this is a dish that is slow-cooked in the oven that and adaptable to different ways of serving it.

Not holy mole...

This delicious oven-cooked Mexican chilli and chocolate chicken dish is one about which I actually know very little in terms of its history. I have no idea whether it is associated with a specific region. I first encountered it in laidback cantinas while on a work project in Mexico City, and later came across it in San Miguel de Allende where it was on the menu in a similarly downhome place.

It shouldn't be confused with the famous mole sauces of Mexico. It's not that. Rather it's an oven-cooked dish that includes a lot of tomatoes. Two of the people who cooked it in their cantinas referred to it as a guisada—Pft! How would I know?

In at least three of these places, I managed to charm the recipe out of the chef and they were all pretty comparable—well, almost. In what might now be termed a gastropub in a leafy suburb of Mexico City, the chef Rosa (according to my old scribblings, though I'm certain I got that wrong and she later corrected me) was very emphatic about the kinds of chillies she used in her version.

However, since many of us live in places that will never have access to the amazing cornucopia of different types of chillies one can find in Mexico, my version will keep it as simple as possible.

Slowly, slowly gets there...

This is a dish that is very easy to cook, but requires a little patience to get it right. There are effectively three stages to cooking it: priming core flavour ingredients in a pan; slow-cooking it in the oven; preparing whatever sides and condiments you prefer before taking it to table.

Drawing on its intrinsic qualities, it's a dish that I often cook of a weekend while getting on with other household stuff. For example, cooked slowly during the day, it requires very little effort to pull it together at table as a family meal or before kicking back to loaf into a movie on a Saturday evening. And, it stores well in the fridge for 3 or 4 days (and freezes equally well) making it one of those things I often cook planning ahead for week nights when I do not want to have to think about dinner after a busy day at work.

In Mexico, this same baseline dish was served in a number of different ways. In a couple of places, with rice and a salad, in others as tortillas with sour cream and a green salsa. And, indeed, all of these work.

The one caveat I would put in there if you are serving it as a tortilla, is not to be tempted to throw on additional strongly flavoured ingredients such as grated cheese or avocado that override the specific and simple flavours. Something that was pretty obvious to me the first time I had it (as a tortilla) was that it is a subtly flavoured dish: too much would be too much.

I'm using flour tortillas, even though I am a fan of corn tortillas. Here, the corn flavour is very present in the dish, so I find the contrast a better option. But, it's up to you.

Overall I would describe this as a mild-to-medium dish in terms of the spices.

This version is for 3 to 4 diners, but you can do the math if you want to cater for a larger group. It scales in a a fairly prosaic way; no hidden tricks etc.

3 top tips to get this recipe right:

• Unless you already know you love fiery food, don't be tempted to double-up on the chilli content in this dish too early. The heat of the chilli is probably best measured once it has been in the oven for an hour. Wait until then before piling it on. Also, if like me, you are cooking this to be stored in the fridge and eaten the next day, remember that chilli often becomes stronger in cooked dishes that have been allowed to "rest"

• You can use tinned tomatoes, but I prefer to use very ripe, small fresh tomatoes that have been chopped into a rough purée. There's something about tinned tomatoes (especially if Italian plum tomatoes) that have an intensity that it perfect for many dishes. But, here, the tomatoes taking a slightly less dominant role is more in keeping with what I encountered in this dish in Mexico

• I have cooked this dish in both enamelled overproof dishes/Dutch ovens (as I am doing here) and in clay pots closer to those used in Mexico. The guidance on times and temperature here relate to the former. If cooking in a clay pot, slightly reduce the heat and the cooking time in the oven

Shopping list

for the fajita spice mix

You won't use all of this. I often make it in larger quantities in a spice grinder and store in a dry, clean jar. Alternatively, use a good store-bought version. Just check it includes the key ingredients. Usually pimentón is missing, but you can easily add it.

• 1 tspn chilli powder

• 1 tspn dried garlic flakes

• 1 tspn pimentón (ideally the "sweet" version)

• 1 tspn cumin

• 1 tspn dried parsley

• 1 tspn oregano

• 1 tspn black pepper

• a dash of salt

for the Mexican chilli and chocolate chicken

• 3 skinless chicken breasts; cut into bite-sized pieces

• 2 fresh red bell peppers; sliced vertically

• 2 large red onions (or brown); sliced vertically

• Approx. 320g sweetcorn; canned or frozen

• 4 cloves of garlic; finely chopped (not grated or crushed)

• 2 tspns fajita spice mix

• 1 tspn dried chipotle chilli flakes

• 1 large fresh red chilli; sliced

• Approx. 20g dark chocolate (min. 85% cacao); very finely grated

• 4 tbspns corn oil (or other vegetable oil)

• Approx. 500g, very ripe fresh tomatoes; roughly puréed

• 300ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

• 1 fresh lime, sliced

• A small clutch of fresh thyme

• 3 fresh bay leaves

• salt and pepper to taste

for the sides and condiments

• spiced rice

• flour tortillas

• Sour cream

• sweet jalapeño peppers

• Sliced iceberg lettuce

• Green salsa - cucumber, olive oil, lime juice, rocket, coriander, spring onions

  
  

Cooking Method

the Mexican chilli and chocolate chicken

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring regularly. When the onions show the first signs of softening, add the bell pepper and and stir in

2. Add the sliced fresh chilli and garlic, stirring frequently. Add the fajita spice mix and stir in. Don't be scared of a little caramelising. But, if anything threatens to burn, add little sloshes of the stock

3. Add the chicken pieces once the onion and bell pepper are browned (for this one, they don't need to be fully soft). Stir frequently so the chicken attains a good colour, but isn't necessarily cooked. Remove from the heat

4. Decant the ingredients and all the juices to an oven-proof dish with a lid. Ladle over the puréed tomatoes. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cover and place in the centre of an oven pre-heated to 200°C. Cook for about 20mins

5. Remove from the oven. Add the bay leaves, thyme, sliced lime (don't squeeze out the juice) and sprinkle over the chipotle flakes. Pour in enough stock to ensure none of the ingredients are "dry". Re-cover and return to the oven. Cook for a further 40mins

6. Remove from the oven. Add the sweetcorn, folding in. Add additional stock as needed. Reduce the heat to approx.180°C. Re-cover and return to the oven for a further 20mins

7. Remove from the oven and add the grated chocolate. Once it's melted, stir in. Re-cover and return to the oven for another 40 to 60mins, taking out to check and stir about every 20mins or so. The chocolate should help reduce the sauce. When it reaches optimal consistency, turn off the heat and allow to cool slowly in the oven

8. Plate or take to table with your desired sides and condiments

Alternatives

This is a dish that is very easy to make vegan, though not necessarily in the same meal as for those eating meat. Apart from the chicken (assuming you're using vegetable stock) and the entirely optional sour cream (that keeps it lactovegetarian) it only requires one change.

Substitute the chicken with Quorn pieces (and treat them pretty much the same as in the recipe above). Alternatively you can substitute these for big pieces of "meaty" mushrooms or sweet potato.

For hardcore carnivores in the most common sense, a guisada is usually a beef stew. I can assure you, cooking the beef version using the same process as here ( but ensure you use beef or vegetable stock) produces excellent results.

Pairings

As with a lot of Mexican food, this dish is marvellous with beer. I can't say that I'm particularly experimental here and head towards a classic Corona Extra with a slice of lime. If anything, I'm even more committed to this path since the stupidity of the pandemic that saw it shunned...

Though a chicken dish, I have never considered anything other than a red wine appropriate with it. And, I tend towards heavier, woody reds that meld with the rich flavours in the chicken and add a little contrapunto flair in complement to the fresher flavours.

Two wines I recommend with this dish are Casa La Rad Alma 2020 and the Viña Cobos Bramare Malbec Uco Valley. I have cooked this dish so many times over the years that I cannot possibly remember all the good wine pairings, but my general oenology compass points in the direction of Tempranillos and Malbecs.