Pollo en Pipian BlancoRoberto Santibanez Cervantes of Mexico City and now executive chef of Fonda San Miguel in Austin, Texas, shared this recipe that he created. The cloak of creamy pipian sauce on the chicken is made of lightly toasted almonds and sesame seeds along with other herbs and spices. Serve the chicken with fresh salsa and black beans.
1 to 2jarred pickled jalapeño chilesen escabeche, seeded and finely diced
6 to 8pitted green olivesthinly sliced
1tablespoondrained capers
Instructions
In a large saucepan, put the chicken, carrot, onion, half of the garlic, celery, parsley, bay leaf, and ½ teaspoon of the salt.
Add water to cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
Reserve off heat in the broth.
Meanwhile, in a medium dry skillet, over medium heat, lightly toast the almonds, stirring constantly, until fragrant and just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.
Transfer to a blender or food processor.
In the same skillet toast the sesame seeds in the same way.
Add to the blender with the almonds.
Add the remaining garlic, allspice, clove, mint, and fresh jalapeño.
Pour in 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth.
Blend to a smooth purée.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Slowly add the sauce (so it doesn't splatter), cover and cook, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes to blend flavors.
The sauce will thicken as it cooks, so stir in about 2 more cups (strained) chicken broth, a little at a time, to reach a consistency that coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Stir in the olives, capers, and pickled jalapeños.
Meanwhile, de-bone the chicken breasts and stir chicken pieces into the sauce.