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One of my call partners, the sole woman in our group, is as much a fan of ethnic cooking as I am. I gave her a cup of the mole rojo I made last weekend earlier this afternoon. The rest of it has been packaged up into 1 & 2 cup portions, vacuum packed and frozen. This whale be able to simply reach into the freezer when the urge for chicken mole hits.
Making mole is involved, but not difficult. It requires a good sizable food processor and fresh spices and a good variety of dried chilies.
INGREDIENTS
10 Ancho chilies.
10 guajillo chilies.
8 mulatto chilies
6 Negro chilies
4 teaspoons of fresh ground canela
1 teaspoon fresh ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
10 cloves of roasted garlic
half a cup sesame seeds.
Half a cup almonds (or peanuts)
half a cup organic raisins (or pitted prunes or banana)
five good-sized tomatillos.
Five good-sized Roma tomatoes
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
one disc of Mexican drinking chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita)
olive oil
chicken stock half a quart
A well seasoned cast-iron skillet is really important here. Start by toasting the chilies for about 45 min. in the dry cast-iron skillet. Put them over to the side and cool for a little bit, until you can handle them to remove the stems and seeds. Toss into a stock pot and cover with a couple of quarts of water and simmer on low until the chilies are rehydrated.
While the chilies are doing their thing, toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet for about 5 min. and toast the almonds in the oven at 300° for four or five min. Be careful not to burn either the almonds or the sesame seeds.
If using raisins or prunes, get them soaking in hot water to rehydrate them (about half an hour). Once they are plumped, pour off the extra water.
Peeled and husks off the tomatillos, under running hot water. Dry them off and then blacken them in the dry cast-iron skillet. Follow suit with the Roma tomatoes.
Now the fun stuff! Put the tomatillos and Roma tomatoes into the food processor and buzz them up until liquefied. Add in the sesame seeds and the almonds, then the garlic and the ground spices. Then add in the raisins (or prunes or banana).
Drain the rehydrated chiles well and start adding them in through the food processor's feeding chute. Keep buzzing until smooth. Finally, once all the chilies are added add in the chocolate. Hopefully the mixture is still fairly warm and so the chocolate should melt fairly quickly and blend in well. In general, I let the chocolate sit on top of the hot/warm mixture for 3 to 4 min. before blending them in, so they have a chance to melt a bit.
Pour some olive oil into the largest skillet you have, and once it's heated well, pour the contents of the food processor into the skillet over medium heat. You're going to keep this moving over medium heat until it's cooked through (about 10 to 15 min.). This is when you start adding in the chicken stock. Use a spatula to keep things from burning on the bottom. Keep adding stock as it begins to thicken, until you've added the entire half quart.
Once it's all cooked through, transfer it out of the skillet into a very large bowl and allow it to cool.
I find this freezes well, particularly if vacuumed packed. I've kept it for up to a year in the deep freeze, not that it usually lasts that long!
One of the most decadent meals we've had in the last couple of years, was this recipe of mole poured over tamales that had been frozen and reheated.
While the chilies are simmering
Making mole is involved, but not difficult. It requires a good sizable food processor and fresh spices and a good variety of dried chilies.
INGREDIENTS
10 Ancho chilies.
10 guajillo chilies.
8 mulatto chilies
6 Negro chilies
4 teaspoons of fresh ground canela
1 teaspoon fresh ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
10 cloves of roasted garlic
half a cup sesame seeds.
Half a cup almonds (or peanuts)
half a cup organic raisins (or pitted prunes or banana)
five good-sized tomatillos.
Five good-sized Roma tomatoes
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
one disc of Mexican drinking chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita)
olive oil
chicken stock half a quart
A well seasoned cast-iron skillet is really important here. Start by toasting the chilies for about 45 min. in the dry cast-iron skillet. Put them over to the side and cool for a little bit, until you can handle them to remove the stems and seeds. Toss into a stock pot and cover with a couple of quarts of water and simmer on low until the chilies are rehydrated.
While the chilies are doing their thing, toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet for about 5 min. and toast the almonds in the oven at 300° for four or five min. Be careful not to burn either the almonds or the sesame seeds.
If using raisins or prunes, get them soaking in hot water to rehydrate them (about half an hour). Once they are plumped, pour off the extra water.
Peeled and husks off the tomatillos, under running hot water. Dry them off and then blacken them in the dry cast-iron skillet. Follow suit with the Roma tomatoes.
Now the fun stuff! Put the tomatillos and Roma tomatoes into the food processor and buzz them up until liquefied. Add in the sesame seeds and the almonds, then the garlic and the ground spices. Then add in the raisins (or prunes or banana).
Drain the rehydrated chiles well and start adding them in through the food processor's feeding chute. Keep buzzing until smooth. Finally, once all the chilies are added add in the chocolate. Hopefully the mixture is still fairly warm and so the chocolate should melt fairly quickly and blend in well. In general, I let the chocolate sit on top of the hot/warm mixture for 3 to 4 min. before blending them in, so they have a chance to melt a bit.
Pour some olive oil into the largest skillet you have, and once it's heated well, pour the contents of the food processor into the skillet over medium heat. You're going to keep this moving over medium heat until it's cooked through (about 10 to 15 min.). This is when you start adding in the chicken stock. Use a spatula to keep things from burning on the bottom. Keep adding stock as it begins to thicken, until you've added the entire half quart.
Once it's all cooked through, transfer it out of the skillet into a very large bowl and allow it to cool.
I find this freezes well, particularly if vacuumed packed. I've kept it for up to a year in the deep freeze, not that it usually lasts that long!
One of the most decadent meals we've had in the last couple of years, was this recipe of mole poured over tamales that had been frozen and reheated.
While the chilies are simmering
