Almendrado with Chicken

Almendrado with Chicken
Print Recipe
4 to 5 servings Almendrado con Pollo
Ingredients
  • 1/2 large white onion cut into pieces
  • 6 cloves garlic unpeeled
  • 2 pounds (about 7 or 8) roma tomatoes
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 1 1-inch stick ceylon cinnamon or canela
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 3-pound chicken cut into serving pieces (wings removed for later use and breasts cut in half)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
  • 2 cups chicken broth divided
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 cup black raisins
  • 1/2 cup manzanilla olives stuffed with pimiento sliced
  • 1/4 cup capers chopped
  • 1/2 cup pickled jalapeño rajas or slices
To Prepare
  • Place onion, garlic and tomatoes under the broiler, or on an already heated skillet, griddle or comal set over medium heat. Roast or char for about 10 minutes, flipping in between, until ingredients are completely charred, cooked and mushy. Set aside and peel the garlic cloves when cool enough to handle.
  • In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast the cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick for a couple minutes, moving and flipping them around to toast evenly. Set aside. Toast the oregano for 10 to 15 seconds and remove from the heat.
  • In the jar of a blender, place the charred onion, peeled garlic and charred tomatoes, along with the tops from the whole cloves (discard the stems), the peppercorns, cinnamon and oregano. Puree until completely smooth.
  • Heat the oil in a large casserole set over medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Season the chicken with the salt and brown the chicken pieces for 2 to 3 minutes per side. You may need to do this in batches in order to not to crowd the casserole. Once you have removed all the chicken, immediately pour the tomato sauce into the hot oil and cover, as it will splatter. Reduce heat to medium.
  • Add a cup of chicken broth to the blender and puree for a few seconds to get all the remaining thick sauce out of the blender, pour into the simmering sauce and cover again. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Incorporate the remaining cup of chicken broth, almonds, raisins, olives and capers. Add the browned chicken pieces, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 20 more minutes.
  • Remove the lid and add the pickled jalapeño slices. Increase heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes, allowing all the flavors to blend and the sauce to thicken. Serve with rice.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 large white onion cut into pieces
  • 6 cloves garlic unpeeled
  • 2 pounds (about 7 or 8) roma tomatoes
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 1 1-inch stick ceylon cinnamon or canela
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 3-pound chicken cut into serving pieces (wings removed for later use and breasts cut in half)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
  • 2 cups chicken broth divided
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 cup black raisins
  • 1/2 cup manzanilla olives stuffed with pimiento sliced
  • 1/4 cup capers chopped
  • 1/2 cup pickled jalapeño rajas or slices
 To Prepare
  • Place onion, garlic and tomatoes under the broiler, or on an already heated skillet, griddle or comal set over medium heat. Roast or char for about 10 minutes, flipping in between, until ingredients are completely charred, cooked and mushy. Set aside and peel the garlic cloves when cool enough to handle.
  • In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast the cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick for a couple minutes, moving and flipping them around to toast evenly. Set aside. Toast the oregano for 10 to 15 seconds and remove from the heat.
  • In the jar of a blender, place the charred onion, peeled garlic and charred tomatoes, along with the tops from the whole cloves (discard the stems), the peppercorns, cinnamon and oregano. Puree until completely smooth.
  • Heat the oil in a large casserole set over medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Season the chicken with the salt and brown the chicken pieces for 2 to 3 minutes per side. You may need to do this in batches in order to not to crowd the casserole. Once you have removed all the chicken, immediately pour the tomato sauce into the hot oil and cover, as it will splatter. Reduce heat to medium.
  • Add a cup of chicken broth to the blender and puree for a few seconds to get all the remaining thick sauce out of the blender, pour into the simmering sauce and cover again. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Incorporate the remaining cup of chicken broth, almonds, raisins, olives and capers. Add the browned chicken pieces, cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 20 more minutes.
  • Remove the lid and add the pickled jalapeño slices. Increase heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes, allowing all the flavors to blend and the sauce to thicken. Serve with rice.

37 comments on “Almendrado with Chicken”

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  1. Muy delicioso. Mi esposo se comio casi toda la cacerola.. Lo voy hacer nuevamente. Me llevo mas tiempo en cocinarlo. De lo que lo saborie.!! Gracias paty por tus deliciosas recetas.!

    Reply

  2. Hola Pati!
    Esta es la primera receta tuya que yo hago y que crees? Me encanto. No conozco Oaxaca pero gracias a ti ya probé una de sus delicias..
    Mi plan es cocinar una de tus recetas a la semana, así que la siguiente serán los pambasos….:)

    Reply

  3. Our first ‘Pati Dish’ (of many to come) and we’re SOOOOO happy! Wild about the rich smoky notes from the charred veg and the sweet and salty hits from the raisins and olives/jalapenos/capers. We’re super-excited to have found a wonderful Latin tienda not far away, and are now the proud owners of a new comal and a pantry-full of ingredients. !Muchas gracias por ensenarnos, Pati!

    Reply

    1. Oh wow! Thank you so much Sandy and Tom. I hope you have lots more fun cooking up my recipes with your new comal and Mexican pantry.

      Reply

  4. Wow, I just made this and it was incredible! The tomato sauce was so thick, savory, and bursting with flavor! The chicken was so moist and almost falling off the bone, infused with so much flavor from the sauce. Thank you so much, Pati! Viva Mexico! 🇲🇽🇲🇽

    Reply

  9. Hi Pati,
    I saw your show for the first time today. This recipe reminds me of my Mom’s recipe that is a family favorite that I call “Mexican Chicken”. Key ingredients are the holy trinity of celery, bell pepper and onion cooked til caramelized then add whole canned tomatoes with camino, salt and pepper which is combined with browned chicken.

    I can’t wait to make your recipe for Mi Mama, with all the different ingredients. Unfortunately, I took a fall walking my dog and have use of only one arm (temporarily). Muchas Gracias, Lea

    Reply

  10. Pati,, Pati, Pati ! All I had to do was read the ingredients then said I want to try this. I did last night. So good. Though it was warm outside everyone agreed this is a great fall-winter dish. So rich in flavors with balance. We can taste everything on the list. I will share this with friends and I know they will love it too. It is a Mexican Caccitore. Everyone here loved it. Thank you for another outstanding recipe. I might even have it for breakfast this morning.

    Reply

  12. Pati – this sounds alot like Pollo Guisado…or can you post a Pollo Guisado recipe, please? My friend from Guatemala makes the most amazing guisado and I have watched her make it but since she does not measure, I tried to estimate her ingredients but it does not taste the same! 🙁

    Sge also does a turkey dish in a similar way (green olives and all).

    Please help me get a Pollo Guisado recipe! Thank you! ♡

    Reply

  13. We made this for dinner tonite and my family loved it. The aroma of toasting the cinnamon and cloves was amazing. The unique combination of ingredients are a perfect match.

    Reply

  16. this sounds delicious and I don’t see much sugar in the recipe other than the raisins, I will try it in the near future, its not your typical mole sounds like, thank you.

    Reply

  17. Hola, Pati —

    Thank you, muchas gracias, merci beaucoup and danke schön for the recipe!!!!!

    I first had pollo almendrado in Oaxaca years ago at a restaurant called La Casa de la Abuela. To this day it remains my favorite dish of all time. But we never see it on restaurant menus where I live (Chicago area) so I’m looking forward to trying your version (which I’m sure will be every bit as good).

    Reply