Like Water from Chocolate

Movie Inspired Meals

Chicken and Chipotle Mole from Like Water from Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate
In a novel with recipes by Laura Esquivel brought to film, Like Water for Chocolate follows the life of Tita (Lumi Cavazos), whose longing for her forbidden lover can only be portrayed through the ministrations of food. The film’s title refers to the boiling point that water must reach to melt chocolate, but is a metaphor for the undercurrent of passion between Tita and Pedro (Marco Leonardi), who cannot marry because Tita’s duty as the youngest is to care for her domineering mother.

Tita’s connection to food is so potent, diners are swept into a spell of exaggerated emotion similar to what she feels while preparing dishes. Wedding guests are overcome with grief and sickness as they eat wedding cake laced with Tita’s tears. In one particularly heady scene, Tita creates a quail and rose petal dish that makes the entire dinner table swoon with arousal. In another, she grinds mole in a pestle, exposing a hint of a breast as she bends over in her labor, and ignites the undying love of her paramour. Can food stir up emotion? Like Water for Chocolate will inspire you to find out. Here is a simple version of the complex mole Tita made to seduce Pedro.

Chicken and Chipotle Mole (Serves 6)

Chocolate

Ingredients:

  • 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 pinch cloves
  • 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes, juices retained
  • 1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons almond or peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chilies plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
  • 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • Steamed white rice, as an accompaniment

Directions:

Coat chicken on all sides with cumin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and sauté until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add cinnamon, coriander, ginger and cloves and toast until fragrant. Add tomatoes with juice, broth, almond or peanut butter, chipotle chilies, adobo sauce, and chocolate and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens slightly, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; serve with steamed white rice.


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