BONELESS CHICKEN BREAST IN CRANBERRY, WALNUT, AND PIPIAN SAUCE

Boneless Chicken Breast in Cranberry, Walnut, and Pipian Sauce image

Provided by Food Network

Time 4h30m

Yield 6 to 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 20

6 to 8 boneless chicken breasts
2 onions, sliced
5 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
Salt
Cranberry, Walnut, and Pipian Sauce, recipe follows
4 ounces olive oil
10 garlic cloves
5 shallots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
8 ounces cranberries
7 ounces chopped walnuts
4 dried ancho chiles
4 dried pasilla chiles
6 ounces pumpkin seeds
5 dried chiles de arbol
6 ounces sesame seeds, roasted
1 1/2 Mexican chocolate tablets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

Put the chicken breasts in a large, deep saute pan with onion, garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Pour just enough water to cover the chicken into the pan, bring to a boil, and boil until chicken is fully cooked through.
To serve, slice each chicken breast into 3 or 4 pieces. Ladle some of the Cranberry, Walnut, and Pipian Sauce onto each serving plate and top with the sliced chicken breast. Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.
Preheat the oven to 165 degrees F.
On a baking sheet, mix together all ingredients except the sesame seeds, Mexican chocolate, and salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 2 hours. (The sesame seeds should be roasted separately.)
Put all roasted ingredients, plus the sesame seeds, into a blender. Blend until smooth and then strain. Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan and boil for 1 hour.
Add the chocolate tablets, season, to taste, with salt and pepper, and continue boiling for an additional 30 minutes. This sauce also goes very well with fish.