Grand Recipes

This month Chef Guido de la Mora shares one of his all-time favorite recipes, duck in a smooth mole almendrado or roasted almond sauce rich in spicy flavors with a hint of chocolate and chili, a Mexican classic. 

Duck confit in Roasted Almond sauce or Mole Almendrado

Serves 6 people

Ingredients

  • 2 ancho chillies
  • 2 guajillo chillies
  • Six duck breasts or six pieces of duck confit
  • 1/2 cup blanched almonds
  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds
  • 2 onions
  • 2 garlic cloves with the skin on
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 Mexican chocolate tablet
  • 1/4 tbsp cumin
  • 1 clove
  • 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 peppercorns
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 liters of chicken stock or water

Preparation

Clean your chillies, remove the stems and seeds. Peel the onion.
Heat a heavy frying pan and char the tomatoes, peeled onion and garlic clove and remove them. Set aside.
In the same frying pan toast the almonds and then the sesame seeds. Set aside.
After the nuts are done and the frying pan is still hot, toast the chillies, making sure not to burn them. Once they are toasted, place them for 10 min in hot boiling water to soften the skin.
When the vegetables are charred and the chillies are softened, place them in a blender together with the almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, clove, peppercorns, cumin and a pinch of salt. Use some chicken stock or water to blend. Make sure everything is blended very well, so you get a very smooth mole.
Once the sauce is done, heat a saucepan to medium heat or a Dutch oven and heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil, then add the sauce. Lower the heat. Cook for 5 min and then add a ladle of chicken stock or water, then add the chocolate in pieces, so that it is easier to dissolve. Mix from time to time and add more stock or water if it thickens.
Taste it to see if it needs more salt. Continue cooking until you see a bit of oil on the top. The flavor will change with time, and you will notice that it tastes even better the following day.
When your mole almendrado is ready, add the duck, heat through and serve with tomato rice and some delicious homemade corn tortillas