Pistachio chicken mole

Traditionalists will come after me with sharpened machetes for what I'm about to share.

(They may be justified)

Because traditional mole is more than a sauce - some say it's the national dish of Mexico.

Exceptionally dark, rich, and flavorful, it's ladled over plates of chicken or turkey for festive meals during weddings, Cinco de Mayo, and Dia de los Muertos.

Pronounced "moh-lay," the sauce is a Mexican staple with a history going back to pre-colonial times. The word "mole" is derived from the Nahuatl word "mōlli," meaning "sauce" or "concoction."

With a towering list of ingredients, mole recipes often include:

• Dried chiles (such as ancho, pasilla, mulato, and chipotle)

• Tomatoes and tomatillos

• Onions and garlic

• Nuts (like almonds, peanuts, or pumpkin seeds)

• Spices (such as cinnamon, cloves, and coriander)

• Mexican chocolate

• Bread or tortillas (to thicken the sauce)

The sauce is notorious for its long, drawn-out, multi-step process that takes all day to prepare.

(Which is why very few people attempt to make it.)

Every time I've ordered chicken mole at Mexican restaurants, the meals always end with more questions than answers, like:

"How many ingredients are in this?"

"Who has ALL DAY to make a single sauce?"

"If it has chocolate, does it count as dessert?"

But as a routinely distracted person, my curiosity was shoved to the back burner.

Until a few weeks ago.

A package caught my eye as I pushed my shopping cart past stacks of onions at Specialty Produce.

"Mole negro paste" it read.

Bingo.

The shortcut. The forbidden fruit. The silver sombrero...?

The distilled essence of mole sauce, minus the toil - just add water!

Well, almost.

A quick search showed me the best way to transform mole paste into a sauce:

1. Simmer tomato puree with a bit of oil

2. Stir in the mole paste

3. Simmer with chicken stock

...and there you have it.

The cooking process is shortened by 90% because the slow-cooked ingredients are ground together into a shelf-stable product that's ready-made for you.

Which I suspect is what the restaurants are using, too.

For SIMPL Insiders, I've included a link to add mole paste to an Amazon shopping cart with one click.

For this week's SIMPL recipe, slow-cooked chicken thighs are smothered with mole negro sauce, then paired with cilantro-lime rice, and garnished with pickled red onions and a sprinkle of chopped pistachios.

Since the pickled onions give the dish enough sweetness, I opted not to include the chocolate in my version. But I won't stop you from adding some.

This technique is a bit of a shortcut, so you're not entitled to the glowing sense of pride in accomplishment you'd get from making the full, labor-intensive, day-long version.

But try it anyway.

Here's the nutrition breakdown for 1 serving of this recipe:

You can get the full 5-portion recipe for this, and all my high-protein dishes when you become a SIMPL Insider.

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