Poorman's Mole Poblano

Mole (pronounced Mo-lay, gringo) Poblano, the brown kind of mole is, after being the national dish of Mexico, often accused of looking like various kinds of doodie. Do not buy into this cheap, lazy way of thinking of one of the best foods (next to avocados, chocolate, pulque…) to come off the pages of the Aztec menu. As my ex-girlfriend Maria (not you Maria, the other Maria…) used to say, “Abraza la morena, gringo…Embrace the brown, whiteboy.” I never knew if she was talking about the food or her, so I did both. To more or less great failure. She may be gone today, but I still have Mole and I finally think I’ve struck upon a recipe that works.

Mole Poblano

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds (7.5 ml)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (7.5 ml)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (15 ml)
• 2 tablespoons ground Pasilla chili powder (30 ml)
• 1 cup cooked black beans (236 ml – rinsed if using canned)
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes (236 ml)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (15 ml)
• 1 cup Mirepoix (236 ml)
• 1 teaspoon honey (5 ml)
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, loosely packed (60 ml)
• 2 teaspoons lime juice (10 ml)
• 2 tablespoons butter (30 ml)
• 1.5 oz. Mexican Chocolate (45 g)
• S & P

Directions

In a small skillet, toast the cumin seeds, oregano, sesame seeds, and chili powder, stirring constantly for three minutes (or until golden), and then blend, or crush in a mortar with pestle for a more authentically tiring feel. Add the beans, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, Mirepoix, honey, cilantro, lime, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Puree until smooth and liquidy brown. Transfer the mole to a saucepan and heat until thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Serve any number of ways including (but not limited to): dip, topping on seafood, rice, base sauce for Aztec Warrior Pizza. That or just stand around with Tecateritas (aka Beergaritas) and lick it off your fingers.

Mole Poblano & Roasted Pasilla Chiles in eggs

This entry was posted on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 08:16. It is filed under Spicy and tagged with Aztec, Beergaritas, Mexican Chocolate, mole poblano, Pizza!, Tecateritas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.