Pollo En Mole Verde (Chicken in Green Mole)

Place the chicken, onion, carrot, garlic, and cilantro, along with salt to taste, in a stockpot with water to cover. Cook until tender, about 40 minutes, removing the white meat after 25-30 minutes so that it does not overcook and become rubbery. Remove from heat and set aside while you make the mole.

Put the tomatillos, onion, garlic and serranos in a saucepan with two cups of the strained chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for about five minutes, until the tomatillos become soft.

Transfer this to a blender container, add the chopped poblanos and lettuce and puree until smooth. Add the ground pumpkin seeds, cilantro and epazote or parsley and puree again.

Transfer this into a saucepan in which you have heated the vegetable oil, and stir continuously as you gradually add the remaining two cups of strained chicken stock. Simmer over low heat about thirty minutes, stirring frequently to make sure that the sauce doesn't burn or stick. Taste for salt.

Serve in soup or stew bowls: Place a piece of chicken in each bowl, ladle the mole over it, and accompany with plenty of warm tortillas.

NOTE: To remove the skins from poblano chiles, roast them over a gas flame or in a broiler, turning until they are charred all over. Then place them in a plastic bag for 10-15 minutes. This loosens the skin and makes them easy to slide off under a stream of running water.