Mole de Arroz

Mole de Arroz
Rice Mole
(from Hot & Spicy Mexican, by DeWitt, Wilan and Stock (Prima, 1996))

This very simple, delicious rice dish from Jalisco, Mexico uses a very uncommon chile trio of pasillas, cascabels, and pickled jalapenos.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, cut up
Water to cover
2 medium onions, sliced
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups rice, soaked
4 pasilla chiles, seeds and stems removed
3 cascabel chiles, seeds and stems removed
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin
6 black peppercorns
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tomatillos, chopped

Garnishes:

1/2 to 1 head lettuce, shredded
Pickled jalapenos to taste

Procedures:

Place the chicken parts in a pan, cover with water, and add the onions and salt to taste. Cook the chicken until it is tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the broth, keep it warm, and set the broth aside.

Measure the broth to 3 cups, adding more water if necessary. Cook the rice in the broth until done, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick.

In a separate fry pan, fry the chiles in the oil, then add the cumin, peppercorns, garlic and tomatillos until the chiles become soft. Remove to a blender and puree, then return to the pan. Add the rice and cook for a few minutes.

Serve the rice with the chicken and decorate with the lettuce and pickled jalapenos.
Serves 6.
Heat scale: Medium (to increase the heat, leave the seeds in the chiles; to reduce the heat, use 2 pasilla and 3 cascabel chiles).

By Bob Nemerovski / molepage@ramekins.com