Chicken mole with almond-flour 'cornbread'

Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients (chicken mole):

• 2 chicken breasts
• vegetable oil (for pan-frying)
  
• 1 diced onion
• 2 cups of chicken bouillon
• 1 tin of diced tomatoes (or an equal quantity fresh), chopped
• 1 t oregano (or epazote)
  
• 1 green chili pepper
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1 T Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• almond flour
  

Ingredients ('cornbread'):

• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 T coconut flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or butter
  
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 c milk

Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).

Heat some oil in a deep, lidded skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. Add all the other mole ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients for the 'cornbread'. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the sauce. Process the sauce in a blender or food processor until it is as smooth as possible. Return the sauce to the pan and add the chicken. Add about 4 T of almond flour to thicken and flavor the sauce; more can be added if needed. Simmer for about 10 minutes before serving.

Source

The mole recipe is a variation of a recipe I have had for a long time (before I started keeping track of the origins of recipes). The original is much spicier.

The almond-flour 'cornbread' is simply an unseasoned variation of my muffin base, which has its origins in Elana's Pantry. I used the almond flour, coconut flour, and egg ratio from her cinnamon bun muffins, and altered the rest.

Notes

When I make this recipe without concern for carbs, I serve it with rice and beans rather than a sort of cornbread. The almond-flour 'cornbread' simply seemed like a suitable side for this main dish. It would probably go well with other dishes which would normally be served with cornbread.

Vermouth chicken with celeriac-carrot mash

Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients (chicken):

• 2 chicken breasts
• vegetable oil
  
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 shallot
• 1/4 cup dry vermouth
• 1/4 cup cream or cream substitute
• 1 t dried tarragon
• salt
• pepper
• coconut flour
  

Ingredients (mash):

• salt
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 smallish celeriac
• 2 T butter
• milk, cream, or cream substitute

Pre-heat the oven to 200° C (400° F). Pound the chicken at the thicker ends in order to make it more uniform and set it aside.

Finely chop the shallot. In a frying pan, with a bit of oil, lightly sauté the shallot until it is soft, then remove it from the heat. Put the shallot into a small baking dish. Add the chicken, the bouillon cube, and enough water to cover the chicken. Put the pan in the oven; baste or turn over the chicken from time to time.

Peel the carrots and chop them roughly. Do the same with the celeriac. Put them into a pan and fill with cold water just up to the top of the vegetables. Bring the pan to a boil and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes, or until both carrots and celeriac feel extremely soft when you stick a fork through them. Drain the vegetables and return them to the pan. Add the butter to the vegetables.

Heat the frying pan again, adding some additional oil. Remove the chicken from the oven and lightly fry it on both sides before setting it aside. Deglaze the frying pan with the liquid in the baking pan. Add the vermouth, and allow it to reduce.

Puree the vegetables, using as much milk/cream as needed to get a smooth consistency. Salt to taste and set aside.

Add the cream to the frying pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add coconut flour gradually to the pan, no more than 1 T at a time, whisking after each addition. Wait briefly after each addition: coconut flour will gradually absorb liquid and change the consistency of the sauce. Continue until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Add the dried tarragon to the sauce.

Source

Inspiration for this recipe came from Christina Cooks.

Notes

I use a cream substitute with 85 calories and 4.5 g carbs.

Carrots have 9.6 g of carbs per 100 g and celeriac has 9.2 g. Vermouth is one of the lower carb alcohols, at 1.4 g.

If you are not on a low-carb diet, you can use cornstarch to thicken the sauce instead of using coconut flour. This will produce a somewhat smoother consistency.