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Passport & Plate - Papardelle with mole housemade

USA | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
pappardelle,lamb leg,carrots,celery, onion, tomato, garlic and MOLE! The mole is made in house by first roasting chiles: pulla, guajillo, chipotle and grinding then with roasted garlic and onions, sesame seeds, cumin and cinnamon and then mixing in Mexican chocolate and sweet plantains, parmigiano reggiano.

 

How to prepare this recipe
Pappardelle comes from the Italian verb “pappare” which means to gobble up. This pappardelle are the same length as fettuccine but they are about 3/4” thick. The lamb leg is braised with carrots, celery, onion, tomato, garlic and MOLE! The mole is made in house by first roasting chiles: pulla, guajillo, chipotle and grinding then with roasted garlic and onions, toasted sesame seeds, cumin and cinnamon and then mixing in Mexican chocolate and roasted sweet plantains. This mix is slowly simmered for about 3hours and the result is a thick, rich, complex sauce that is slightly spicy but super flavorful given all of the other ingredients. Mexican chocolate is made from ground cocoa beans and spices such as cinnamon and clove, every “abuelita” (granny) has their own recipe ‘cause in Mexico some of them use almond chocolate.

 

The story behind this recipe
This recipe is very special for me, because I tried it one day when I felt like a little kid without his mother. I lived in New York for few months, and at the beginning it was difficult for me because I missed my country, my family, my friends, but specially THE FOOD (I´m Mexican).
Then that day I felt very lonely in that place and I decided to go looking for some Mexican food. In my country, everybody knows this saying: full stomach, happy heart. So at that moment that was all that I wanted, I walked too many streets and I saw different menus in different restaurants but I couldn’t find something so good as my mood needed, with the real essence and soul from Mexican food, but then, just in front of me I found Miranda’s Restaurant, that made me feel attracted because I read “Italian and latin american food” and ahead it said “PAPPARDELLE WITH MOLE HOUSEMADE” that seemed so crazy for me, first because of the mix of Italian and Mexican food and second because even here in Mexico is hard to find a tasty mole, so definitely I knew I should try this creation. Well, I only breathed deeply and made my order. In that moment I understood the reason of this plate, because I met the owners, they’re an Italo-mexican marriage, all made sense to me.
When the dish was in front of me I only smelt that mole and immediately a lot of images from my country came to my mind, ‘cause this meal is a synonym of Mexican party, so finally, my pursuit of happiness had finished, I just felt like at home. I tried for the very first time this pappardelle, but with this tasty fusion I only thought “I’m very pleased to meet you Mr. pappardelle”.