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Appetizers
Pavo en Mole Poblano
By Yvette Leon
Ingredients:
  • 1 whole turkey
  • 3 dried chipotle chiles
  • 1 1/2 pounds dried ancho chiles, stems removed
  • 1 1/2 pounds dried pasilla chiles, stems removed
  • 1 pound tomatoes
  • 3 cups lard or vegetable oil for frying
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 8 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 large plantain, peeled and sliced into rounds
  • 1/4 pound raw peanuts
  • 1/4 pound blanched almonds
  • 1/4 pound sesame seeds
  • 5 cloves
  • 4 peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon anise seed
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seed
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 3 toasted tortillas
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup pitted dried prunes
  • 1 cup corn oil
  • 4 quarts turkey broth
  • 8 ounces Mexican chocolate
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds for garnish
Preparation:
Cut turkey to fit into a stock pot; you may need a couple of pots. Place a peeled, quartered onion and one peeled clove of garlic in each pot. Boil turkey in pot until cooked, about 1 hour. Salt to taste. Remove turkey from broth, reserving the broth. Cool the turkey completely. Remove turkey meat from the bones and cut the meat into large chunks. Cover and store the turkey and broth in refrigerator until ready for use. Place all chiles and tomatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Drain the water and peel the tomatoes. Place chiles and tomatoes in a very large bowl and set aside. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of lard or vegetable oil to a large skillet. Fry the onions and garlic until translucent. Remove the garlic and onions from the skillet and add to the large bowl with chiles. In the same cooking oil and skillet, fry the slices of plantain until golden on both sides. Remove the slices and place in the large bowl. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of lard or vegetable oil to the skillet. Add the peanuts, almonds and sesame seeds. Fry until slightly browned. Pour the entire contents of the skillet into the large bowl. In a molcajete, or spice grinder, grind the cloves, peppercorns, anise, coriander seeds and salt into a fine powder. In a small, clean skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the ground spices and fry for 30 seconds. Pour the spices and vegetable oil into the large bowl. Crumble the toasted tortillas and add to the large bowl, along with the raisins, prunes and sugar. In a large stock pot, add one cup of vegetable oil and warm gently. The sauce now needs to be blended until smooth. Fill a blender container 3/4 full with the mixture in the large bowl. Add two cups of turkey broth and blend until you have a smooth sauce with no visible particles. Pour the blended sauce into the stock pot with the heated vegetable oil. Continue processing the contents of the bowl with the turkey broth in this fashion until the entire contents of the bowl have been utilized. Add the chocolate and cinnamon stick to the stock pot. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. When ready to serve, place the cooked turkey in a large Dutch oven or in a large open terra cotta mole dish. Cover the turkey with the mole. Stir a few times to turn the turkey in the sauce, making sure it's heated throughout, but be careful that the mole does not scorch. Cook for about 15 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle sesame seeds over the mole sauce.