Magnificent Mole

MAGNIFICENT MOLE

MARYSOL ALVARADO, OWNER OF THE ACCLAIMED MESTIZO RESTAURANT & TEQUILA BAR IN LONDON, GIVES HER EXPERT TAKE ON THE ULTIMATE MEXICAN FOOD.

When many people think of the food that best sums up Mexico, the first dish that comes to mind is mole.

No, not the little half-blind rodent that causes havoc with people’s lawns, but the rich and sublime sauces called pronounced "moh-lay".

Each town, city and region in Mexico has their own specific mole recipe, many having been proudly handed down from generation to generation. These recipes are the source of great pride and many will say that perhaps the first real fight between newlyweds is: "My mother’s mole is better than your mother’s mole!"

Mole is a dish made for family and national celebrations and is a rich combination of herbs, spices, chilies, both fresh and dried, nuts and seeds. A combination that when made with love, creates a unique sauce that tantalises the taste buds like no other.

Technically, all sauces can be classed as mole sauces, but most people consider the cold ones as salsas and only the hot ones as mole.

The most ubiquitous mole is probably Mole Poblano (the one with chocolate) – a chicken dish covered in this delicious sauce.

Try out the recipe on the opposite page and discover the true nature of Mexico is in its cuisine.

Mestizo Restaurant & Tequila Bar is located in London and Madrid. Go to www. mestizomx.com to found out more.

MOLE POBLANO

For the chicken: 1 large chicken cut up in pieces 8 cups of water 1 small onion cut up in pieces 3 garlic cloves Salt to taste

For the Sauce: 6 mulato peppers 4 ancho peppers 6 pasilla peppers

1 tablespoon of reserved pepper seeds

6 whole cloves 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorn 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/4 teaspoon anis seeds 3/4 cup sesame seeds

3/4 inch of Mexican cinnamon stick

1/2 cup of raisins 1/2 cup unskinned almonds 1 corn tortilla 3 small slices of French bread 1/3 cup of raw pumpkin seeds 3 small roasted tomatoes 3 garlic gloves roasted

1 large ripe dark-skinned plantain, peeled, thickly sliced

1 tablet of Mexican drinking Chocolate (Ibarra Chocolate or Abuelita Brand). About 3.1 ounces.

The reserved broth from the cooked chicken

1/2 cup of oil or lard to fry the ingredients

Salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 35 minutes. Transfer chicken to bowl; cover and chill. Strain and reserve broth in pot.

2. Cut the peppers using your kitchen scissors if possible to flatten them for an even toasting.

3. In a skillet toast the dry peppers a few at a time, on both sides, until the inside flesh turns tobacco brown. Place them in the bowl with the broth to soak. Keep toasting the rest of the peppers and placing them in the water. Soak them for about 30 minutes. Drain them and set aside in a bowl.

4. Meanwhile, toast separately the reserved peppers seeds, the coriander seeds, the anise seeds and sesame seeds. Set them aside to cool.

5. Grind as finely as possible the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, and all the toasted ingredients except the sesame seeds.

6. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds for serving the mole; grind the rest as finely as possible. After this step add this mixture of spices and seeds to the bowl with the peppers. Now, begin frying the following ingredients separately draining any excess fat after frying: the raisins until plump up, the almonds until well browned, the pumpkin seeds until they swell, the tortilla and bread until crisp.

7. Add plantain and sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Fry the onions until golden brown and place in the bowl where all the fried and toasted ingredients were placed and now are ready to go into the blender. Crush the almonds, tortilla and bread roughly.

8. Put one cup of the chicken broth into the blender jar, the tomatoes and peeled garlic, and blend until smooth. Gradually add the spice mixture and blend well; then add another cup of broth and gradually blend the fried ingredients to a slightly texture paste.

9. In a large skillet over medium heat, reheat the sauce, scraping the bottom of the pan very often to avoid sticking. Season with salt.

10. Continue frying until the mixture is very thick, about 8 minutes, then add the chocolate, broken into small pieces with yet another cup of broth and continue cooking and scraping the bottom another 5 minutes. Add the remaining broth as needed to desired thickness and continue cooking for about 25 minutes.

11. Add cooked chicken to hot mole; simmer until chicken is heated through, about 10 minutes. To serve, place a piece of chicken on a warm plate. Spoon on plenty of the mole sauce; sprinkle with sesame seeds.