Without pain or problems, how we could enjoy the great moments in life? Without struggling how we would feel the need to run to our beloved table and console ourselves with our favourite dish?
I guess that thanks to these points, my grandma Carmen become an excellent healer of hearts through her food. Mole is the magic potion that heals all the darkness in my life, for this reason I decided to share this as my first blog recipe.
Carmen has been buying her Mole in the same place since she moved to the neighbourhood “La Santa Maria La Ribera” at the age of 20 years old. She has been a devoted client of Anita’s shop at “El Mercado de la Dalia” for 64 years. Mole can be bought already prepared or it can be done from scratch, however there are 3 things that must be followed according to Carmen:
1. Once you have all the ingredients in the pot (or the prepared mole with the chicken stock) the mixture should always move towards the same direction (I prefer clock direction). They say that if this advice is not followed the Mole don’t release all his flavours. Superstition? maybe, but I prefer to follow her commands.2. The Mole should be moved with a wooden utensil. I asked to my grandma to donate me one from her kitchen, hoping that my dishes will be with the same flavour as hers.3. The secret of amazing taste of Carmen’s Mole is that she adds and extra piece of dark raw chocolate with natural sweetener to the mixture prepared. I personally prefer to make my chocolate with Raw cacao and Agave syrup.
FULL RECIPE:
Ingredients Mole from scratch:3/4 Pepper Ancho, 200g Pepper Mulato, 100Gg Pepper Pasilla, 250g Lard fat, 1/2 Dark raw chocolate table, 1/2 Teaspoon Aniseed liqueur, 30g Peanuts without skin, 1 Small piece of cinnamon, 1 Teaspoon of sugar, 6 Dried prunes, 1/2 Teaspoon of coriander seeds, 100g Sesame seeds toasted, 1/4 Tortilla fried in lard (optional), /2 Bread fried in lard (optional), Salt and pepper as you wish, Extra 100g of Raw sweet chocolate (to be added later).*Carmen normally buy the above mixture already done from Anita’s store
Ingredients for the meat:Small chicken or 6 chicken thighs, 6 Garlic cloves, 50g Onion.
1 – Cook the chicken with the onion and the garlics. The meat has to be a little hard (not completely cooked), since it will finish cooking in the sauce. Otherwise it will end completely undone. 2 – Devein (remove veins of) the peppers and remove all the seeds. Use some gloves as some peppers might irritate the skin. 3 – Toast / fry all the peppers in lard in a pan. Be careful not to burn them, because this would make a bitter taste. 4 – Remove the peppers from the pan and grind them with all the spices. 5 – Put the mixture in a pot (with a teaspoon of lard) and start mixing with the wooden utensil towards the same direction (Carmen’s points 1 & 2). 6 – When you start to see some golden bubbles on top add some chicken stock (water where you cooked the meat). Keep moving the mixture in the same direction and bring to boil * There is not an exact timing, you need to keep an eye on the pot. 7 – Add the extra piece of raw chocolate (Carmen’s point 3). 8 – Add the meat to the pot in small pieces. 9 – Add salt and pepper to your taste.
I hope you will enjoy this recipe and forget any darkness in your heart.
The recipe from scratch was taken from the book: EL MOLE: OFRENDA DE DIOSES, MANJAR DE SEÑORES, Fundación Herdez. The book has been has been photographed with San Pascual Bailón, Saint that made the miracle of the Mole recipe.
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BY: FOSCA
FOOD & SET STYLING: FOSCA & KRYSTAL
TEXT & RECIPE: KRYSTAL
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