Passport & Plate - Mexican Red Almond Mole
Mexico | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos
Ingredients
For the Mole Sauce:
Makes 6 or more servings
2 dried ancho or other mild chiles
1/4 cup oil, grape seed or olive oil, both work well
1/2 of one minced fresh serrano or jalapeño chile (approx. 2 teaspoons) (or cayenne pepper, if you absolutely cannot find fresh)
1/2 of a yellow or white onion, chopped
1 cup almonds
7 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 of one ripe banana, sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp red wine
3 Tbsp honey
2 cups of chicken stock (vegetarians may replace with vegetable broth)
Salt to taste (I used approx. 1 tsp)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the meal
2 Tbsp oil
1 lb of your preferred meat, the best choices of meat to pair mole with are chicken, shrimp and turkey
Vegetarians may pour their mole sauce over eggs with rice, or baked tofu
How to prepare this recipePreparation
The Mole Sauce:
1- Soak the ancho chiles in hot water. When softened ( 20 minutes is enough), remove the stems and seeds.
2- Put the oil in a deep skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the fresh chile and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften (5-10) minutes. Add the banana and cook until banana softens, another 5-10 mins.
3 - Add the almonds, garlic, tomatoes, soaked ancho chiles, cinnamon, cloves, some salt, cocoa powder, wine, honey, cumin and about 1/2 cup of stock or more to keep moist. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to break up, about 10-15 mins
4 - Allow sauce to cool for at least 15 minutes, then puree in a blender until smooth. Add the rest of the chicken broth for easier blending.
5 - Pour mole sauce back into skillet, stir and taste, adjust salt to your taste. I used about 1 tsp in mine.
For the meal:
Put about 2 Tbsp of oil in a pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper. If cooking chicken or turkey, turn over when the bottom side has lightly browned. For shrimp, turn over after 4 mins.
Serve meat on plates and smother with some of the warm mole, about 1/2 cup per individual serving is about right.
Serve with a side of Spanish rice and beans, you may garnish with sliced avocados or fresh chopped cilantro, or both!
The story behind this recipeWhen I first moved to the US from Mexico, the first thing I noticed was that houses were made of wood. In Mexico houses are made with concrete bricks: it keeps us cool in the summer, and when my mother would cook something particularly aromatic, it was like living in a delicious cool oven.
My mom isn't the typical Mexican mother of kitchen legend. She never made flan from scratch. The only times she made flour tortillas was when she could not afford to get the fresh ones made of corn from the tortillería. She served home cooked meals every day, but she wasn't one to slave for hours over the hot stove. Her meals had just a handful of common ingredients and were quick to make.
But there was one exception. Once in a while, I would come home from school welcomed by the earthy smell of chocolate and chiles. Spices, nuts, garlic and other ingredients were spread on the table. She was making mole from scratch: boiling chiles, scorching tomatoes, grinding nuts.
In my rebellious teenage years, I refused to learn anything to do with the kitchen, so I never learned her recipe. Eventually I moved to the US and had to cook for myself (and quite well, I can now say). I forgot all about my mom's mole for years. Recently, I saw a jar of mole at the store, I tried it and was appalled at the flavor. Mom never wrote down her recipes, and now that she's older, she keeps things in the kitchen even simpler, so I had to figure it out on my own. Drawing ingredients from memory, and some inspiration from reading countless variations on the mole recipe, I finally came up with a version that satisfies my palate, is easy to make, and has ingredients that are easy to find in most countries.
Now living in San Francisco, I had to ensure that the ingredients, while remaining true to the essence of mole, would be easy to find in my neighborhood. Luckily, I live in the Latin district, and the ingredients, and the smells that take me back to that brick home, are just a recipe away.
