Molé

Note: I changed my color combination at the request of people who I apparantly afflicted with headaches as a result of publishing in white over black. How the hell did I know?

Molé

Chiles and chocolate!? In Central Pennsylvania! Jesus H. Christ!

A habit I’ve fallen into over the last decade or so is a Mexican contribution to the usual North American holiday gluttony: preparing molé. My own recipe evolved from several cookbooks and from my own tastes. I’m not so hardcore that I make it in a stone mortar, but a friend from New Mexico says it’s pretty good.

Molé is said to be a throwback to Aztec Mexico. The almost blasphemous combination of sweet and bitter chocolate and fiery chiles is reputed to be restorative and a balm for impotence and other maladies of the loins.

It’s funny how often pungent food is said to affect the below-the-belt regions. Years ago, during a lunch break at work, I found myself at a local farmers market. As you might have guessed by now, I enjoy cooking. I was standing at a green grocer’s stand before a display of large purple bulbs of garlic and fresh Hawaiian ginger of the best quality. I had a generous fistful of each in my hands, already imagining the evening’s fabulous stir fry. Suddenly the great square head of one of my co-worker friends appeared over my shoulder.

This fellow lives in a gymnasium and his body is a temple. He can bench press more than 400 pounds, but he cannot successfully boil water. Staring suspiciously at the goodies in my hands he blurted out “What the hell’s that good for?” I glared back at this ignorant rube and replied “This will put lead in your pencil!” I got a blank stare in response. His old lady of some years had recently flown the coop. Presently he replied “I don’t have anybody to write to!” I suggested he could perhaps start keeping a diary. We burst into loud howling like schoolboys and the green grocer made us leave because we were disturbing the other shoppers.

Mole can be used to roast chicken or turkey, and the resulting delicacy is usually served with corn tortillas, cheese and green chili. Beans and rice are good too. You will need beer and maybe ice cream to extinguish the flames. Feliz navidad!

Molé
Makes about a quart of thick sauce
Two dried Ancho chiles
One dried Chipotle
A half cup of boiling water
Four large cloves of garlic
One medium onion
One corn tortilla
One fresh or frozen jalapeno
One teaspoon ground cumin
One teaspoon ground cinnamon
One quarter cup of raisins
One quarter cup of pine nuts
One teaspoon of sea salt
One half teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
One and a half cups of chicken stock
Two heaping tablespoons (or more to taste) of good local unpasteurized honey
One disk (about three and a half ounces) of sweetened Mexican Chocolate (I use Ibarra)


Reconstitute the dried chiles in half a cup of boiling hot water (it will take about 15 minutes) then remove the core and seeds. The chiles and a few tablespoons of the water go into a food processor (or a stone mortar if you’re really hard core). Next add the garlic, onion, tortilla (torn into pieces), jalapeno, cinnamon, cumin, raisins, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Blend these ingredients into a thick paste. In a medium sauce pan, warm up the chicken stock and the remaining water from reconstituting the chiles, and add the paste from the food processor. Heat this to a slow simmer/boil on low heat, stirring often. Add the honey, stirring it in well. Break the chocolate into pieces and gradually add them to the saucepan, stirring until they melt and blend in. Continue simmering and stirring for about 15-20 minutes, the sauce will thicken but remain thin enough to pour. FYI, it freezes well if you don’t want to use it right away.