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Oaxaca's empanadas de amarillo, fresh corn masa folded around mole amarillo built on chilcostle chiles and shredded chicken, a hoja santa leaf pressed inside each one, toasted on a comal until the edges turn golden and crisp.
This is an Oaxacan empanada. Not the fried half-moon you find in other countries. Not a flour-dough pocket from a bakery case. This is fresh corn masa, pressed by hand on a square of plastic, filled with mole amarillo and shredded chicken, a whole hoja santa leaf laid across the filling, then folded and toasted on a comal until the outside turns golden and the edges go crisp. In the markets of Oaxaca City, near the Templo del Carmen Alto, women have been making these empanadas for generations. They press, fill, fold, and cook them to order. The line forms before eight in the morning and does not stop until the masa runs out.
Mole amarillo is one of Oaxaca's seven moles, and it is the one most often found inside an empanada. The color comes from the chilcostle, a dried chile grown in Oaxaca's Canada region, the same narrow valley that produces the chilhuacle negro for mole negro. The chilcostle is fruity, moderately hot, and gives the mole a deep golden-orange that no other chile replicates. If your vendor sells you guajillo and calls it the same thing, find another vendor. The two chiles share a color range and nothing else.
The hoja santa is not a garnish. It is a structural ingredient. That large, heart-shaped leaf with its anise scent lines the inside of the masa and perfumes the entire empanada as it heats on the comal. You taste it in every bite. Leave it out and you have made a different thing entirely.
My mother did not make these. She was jalisciense and her empanadas were a different animal. I learned these in the Central de Abastos in Oaxaca, watching a senora press them on a square of plastic bag, fill them without a second of hesitation, and fold them so fast that by the time I looked up from my notebook, three more were on the comal. I asked her how she knew the right amount of filling. She looked at me like I had asked how she knew how to breathe. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Mole amarillo is one of the seven moles codified as Oaxaca's regional identity markers in the 20th century, alongside negro, rojo, coloradito, verde, chichilo, and manchamanteles. The chilcostle chile that defines its golden color belongs to the same Capsicum annuum cultivar group as the chilhuacle, both heirloom varieties cultivated in the Canada region of northern Oaxaca since pre-Columbian times and not commercially grown outside the state. The practice of filling corn masa with mole and cooking it on a comal has pre-Hispanic roots in the Zapotec and Mixtec culinary traditions of the Valles Centrales, predating the Spanish introduction of the word 'empanada' itself; what the Spanish named, the Oaxacan cooks had already been making for centuries.
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
Quantity
1/2 medium
divided: 1/4 for broth, 1/4 for mole
Quantity
4
divided: 2 for broth, 2 for mole
Quantity
2
Quantity
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon, divided, plus more to taste
Quantity
8
stemmed and seeded
Quantity
2
stemmed and seeded
Quantity
8
husked and rinsed
Quantity
1
Quantity
3
Quantity
4
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
3 tablespoons
divided
Quantity
2 large
Quantity
2 pounds
Quantity
14 to 16, one per empanada
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 1 1/2 pounds |
| white oniondivided: 1/4 for broth, 1/4 for mole | 1/2 medium |
| garlic clovesdivided: 2 for broth, 2 for mole | 4 |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| kosher salt | 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon, divided, plus more to taste |
| dried chilcostle chilesstemmed and seeded | 8 |
| dried chile anchostemmed and seeded | 2 |
| tomatilloshusked and rinsed | 8 |
| Roma tomato | 1 |
| whole cloves | 3 |
| black peppercorns | 4 |
| cumin seeds | 1/4 teaspoon |
| fresh corn masa (for thickening) | 2 tablespoons |
| lard (manteca de cerdo)divided | 3 tablespoons |
| hoja santa leaves (for the mole) | 2 large |
| fresh nixtamalized corn masa | 2 pounds |
| fresh hoja santa leaves (for assembly) | 14 to 16, one per empanada |
| salsa de pasilla oaxaqueno (optional) | for serving |
Place the chicken thighs in a medium pot. Cover with cold water by two inches. Add a quarter of the onion, two garlic cloves, the bay leaves, and a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Skim the foam that rises in the first ten minutes. Reduce the heat until the surface barely trembles and cook for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken pulls easily from the bone. Remove the thighs and set aside to cool. Strain the broth and reserve it. You will need about a cup and a half of it for the mole.
While the chicken poaches, heat a dry comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Toast the chilcostle and ancho chiles one or two at a time, pressing them flat against the surface with a spatula for about 20 seconds per side. They should puff slightly, turn fragrant, and darken a shade. The chilcostle will release a fruity, slightly smoky smell that tells you the oils are working. Do not let them blacken. Burned chile makes a bitter mole and there is no rescuing it.
Transfer the toasted chiles to a heatproof bowl. Cover with hot tap water, not boiling. Boiling water cooks the skin and turns the mole acrid. Let them soak for 20 minutes until the flesh is soft and pliable. Reserve half a cup of the soaking liquid, then drain.
On the same dry comal, roast the tomatillos, the Roma tomato, the remaining quarter onion, and the two remaining garlic cloves. Turn them occasionally. The tomatillos should soften and get dark blistered spots, about eight to ten minutes. The tomato needs similar time. The onion and garlic will char in spots and go translucent. Let them cool slightly. This roasting is what gives the mole its depth. Raw tomatillos would make it taste green and flat.
In a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, toast the cloves, black peppercorns, and cumin seeds for about one minute, shaking the pan, until fragrant. Transfer immediately to a spice grinder or mortar and grind to a fine powder. These three spices are the quiet architecture of mole amarillo. You will not taste them individually, but you will feel their absence if you skip them.
Place the soaked chiles, roasted tomatillos, tomato, onion, garlic, and ground spices in a blender. Add about three quarters of a cup of the reserved chicken broth. Blend on high until completely smooth. You want a thick puree with no visible seeds or skin. If the blender struggles, add a splash more broth, just enough to keep things moving. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon. Discard what stays in the sieve.
Heat two tablespoons of lard in a heavy pot or cazuela over medium heat. When the lard shimmers, pour in the strained chile puree all at once. It will sputter. Stir constantly for five to seven minutes as the mole darkens and thickens and the fat begins to separate around the edges. This frying step concentrates the flavor and is not optional. In a small bowl, dissolve the two tablespoons of fresh masa in half a cup of chicken broth, working it smooth with your fingers. Pour this into the mole, stirring constantly. The masa thickens the sauce and gives it that characteristic body, silky and substantial, that holds inside an empanada without running out. Add the two large hoja santa leaves, torn into a few pieces. Simmer on low for ten more minutes. Season with a teaspoon of salt and taste. The mole should be concentrated, aromatic, golden-orange, and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon without dripping. If it is thin, cook it down further. Remove and discard the hoja santa pieces.
Pull the cooled chicken from the bones, discarding skin and bone. Shred the meat into thin strips using two forks or your hands. Fold the shredded chicken into the mole amarillo. You want every strand coated. The filling should be moist but not soupy. If it looks wet, cook it over medium heat for another two to three minutes, stirring, until it tightens up. Set aside to cool to warm room temperature. A hot filling will melt the masa when you try to fold it.
Place the two pounds of fresh masa in a large bowl. Add the remaining tablespoon of lard and half a teaspoon of salt. Knead for three to four minutes, working the fat into the masa until it is smooth, pliable, and does not crack at the edges when you press it flat. If the masa feels dry or cracks, add warm chicken broth a tablespoon at a time until it holds together without sticking to your hands. The texture should feel like soft clay. Fresh nixtamalized masa from a tortilleria is what you want. Maseca from a bag will work in a crisis, but the texture will be drier and the flavor thinner. That is the compromise.
Cut a heavy-duty plastic bag (a zip-top bag works) into two squares. Place one square on a tortilla press or your work surface. Take a ball of masa about the size of a large egg, roughly two and a half ounces, and place it in the center. Cover with the second square of plastic. Press flat with the tortilla press or a heavy plate to a round about five inches across and a quarter inch thick. Peel back the top plastic. Lay one hoja santa leaf across one half of the masa round, letting it extend slightly past the edge. Spoon about two tablespoons of the chicken and mole filling onto the hoja santa. Fold the other half of the masa over the filling using the bottom plastic to help you lift and fold without tearing. Press the edges together gently but firmly. Peel away the plastic. The empanada should be a neat half-moon with the hoja santa visible through the masa like a shadow.
Heat a large comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Brush the surface lightly with lard or wipe it with a lard-soaked cloth. Lay the empanadas on the comal without crowding, three or four at a time depending on the size of your comal. Cook for four to five minutes on the first side, until the masa turns golden and develops dark toasted spots. Flip carefully with a thin spatula. Cook four to five minutes more on the second side. The finished empanada should be golden on both sides, firm to the touch, with a faint crackle when you press it. The hoja santa leaf will be visible through the masa, dark green against the golden corn. Asi se hace y punto.
Serve the empanadas warm from the comal, two or three per plate. They need nothing more than what they already have inside them. If you want salsa on the side, make a salsa de pasilla oaxaqueno, the smoky, fruity salsa that every Oaxacan table knows. No crema. No cheese. No lettuce. The empanada is complete. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
1 serving (about 270g)
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