Happy first day of Spring! To me, the start of spring signifies the end (hopefully) to a bitter winter, a glimmer of hope as the temperatures climb and our surroundings are reinvigorated with energy and newness.
Speaking of newness, Marshall and my hearts and hands are full with a new addition to the Munden familia, Lincoln. Lincoln is a six-week old English black lab with whom we are absolutely head-over-heels in love! He’s a constant reminder that life isn’t too be taken too seriously and that it isn’t all about me. I love him for that!
In other “new” news, I am beyond thrilled to announce a recent partnership with Simply Organic. If you haven’t heard of them before (you will probably recognize the brand when you see the logo!), they are an amazing, organic spice company. I am currently obsessed with the all-seasons salt. It enhances the flavor of just about everything and is competing with my long-standing addiction to smoked Maldon sea salt flakes. I could probably write sonnets about salt, but I’ll save that for another post.
In the spirit of all things spices, I thought I would share a recipe in which high-quality spices are pretty much indispensable, mole. I deemed this version “Mole a la Gringa” because, even though I spend the majority of my days joyfully immersed in all things Latino, I still don’t feel qualified to write a truly authentic mole recipe. An original recipe for mole or mole poblano would feature more steps than this one and would be much more labor intensive. I understand the argument that all the labor and time is what makes the dish worth it (que vale la pena) but I just can’t find the time or patience, and I have a feeling I’m not the only one!
So, while slightly simplified, this mole is still the rich, velvety, nutty, smokey, spicy, chocolate-y, just-eat-it-with-a-spoon “sauce” that those south (and north) of the border love and crave. But instead of saving it for a boda or fiesta especial, this recipe you could try it any night of the week. Don’t let the long list of ingredients intimidate you!
Buen provecho and feliz primavera.
- 2 pasilla chiles
- ½ white onion, roughly chopped
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes, whole
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and roughly chopped
- 4 chipotles in adobo (canned), chopped
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ cup pepitas (raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds)
- ¼ cup almonds (raw)
- ¼ cup sesame seeds (white) plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup raisins
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon chile powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 2 oz Mexican chocolate, chopped (ie Taza)
- 2 cups chicken broth (plus 1 more to thin)
- Place dry chile in a bowl of hot water and let soak about 2 minutes. Remove seeds and stems once soft.
- In a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat to medium high and add (without oil) rehydrated chiles, onion, tomatoes, jalapeños, and chipotles in adobo. Flip often, but you're looking for a nice even char on the bigger pieces.
- Lower the heat and coconut oil and garlic, then the remaining ingredients minus the chicken broth, and stir until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes.
- Add chicken broth and cook for another 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add more broth or water if you need to thin it out a little. (Don't wash out the pan that you were using quite yet!)
- Return the mole to the saucepan and heat once more, about 10 minutes. If you accidentally thinned out the mole too much, this is also a great way to reduce it back down.
- Serve mole over poached chicken, pork chops, quail, duck, anything! Top with more sesame seeds.