Manchamanteles

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb chicken thighs
• 1 lb pork shoulder, cubed
• 6 cups water or chicken stock
• 6 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1/4 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup raw peanuts or almonds
• 1 slice white bread, torn
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 ripe plantain, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt, to taste

Before you cook

• Toast the ancho chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 20 seconds per side until fragrant, then set aside.
• Char the tomatoes, onion and garlic in the same dry skillet, turning occasionally, until blackened in spots.
• Toast the peanuts and torn bread in the skillet until golden.

Steps

1. Combine the chicken, pork and water or stock in a large pot.
2. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the meats are cooked through.
3. Lift the chicken and pork out of the pot and set them aside, reserving the broth.
4. Soak the toasted ancho chiles in 2 cups of the hot reserved broth for 10 minutes to soften.
5. Blend the softened chiles with their soaking broth, the charred tomatoes, onion and garlic, the toasted peanuts, bread, cinnamon and cloves until completely smooth.
6. Heat the vegetable oil in a clean pot over medium heat.
7. Pour the blended sauce into the hot oil, straining it through a sieve as you pour.
8. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring often, until it darkens and thickens slightly.
9. Thin the sauce with more of the reserved broth until it coats a spoon thickly.
10. Add the cooked chicken and pork to the sauce.
11. Add the sweet potato cubes.
12. Simmer for 15 minutes until the sweet potato is tender.
13. Add the plantain and pineapple chunks.
14. Simmer for 10 more minutes until the fruit has softened and released its flavor into the sauce.
15. Stir in the sugar and season with salt to taste before serving.