Name: Chicken in Almond Sauce (Almendrado de Pollo)
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 3 cups homemade chicken stock; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; ⅓ cup vegetable oil; 1 large slice (about 1½ inches thick) brioche, challan or other egg bread; 1 large unpeeled onion, halved crosswise, roasted; 8 whole cloves, or ¼ teaspoon ground; 15 black peppercorns, or ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 4 unpeeled garlic cloves, roasted; 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 5 large ripe tomatoes (about 2½ pounds); ½ cup pimiento-stuffed green olives (one 3-ounce jar, drained), cut in thick slices; ⅓ cup dark raisins; 3 tablespoons drained capers; One 2-inch piece canela; 1 cup unblanched almonds; One 3½- to 4-pound chicken, cut in serving pieces; ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

Preparation info

4 to 6
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Life of Oaxaca

By Zarela Martínez

Published 1997

About

This was the first dish I ever ate in Oaxaca, at a little stand in the Mercado 20 de noviembre in Oaxaca City. It was the start of my love affair with Oaxacan food. The sauce was rich and full of fragrant nuances I had not tasted elsewhere in Mexico—the warm nutty flavor of the fried almonds, the acidity of the capers and olives, and the sweetness of the raisins and aromatic spices, all melding deliciously with roasted garlic and onion. Later I found an even better version at the restaurant