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Oct 23, 2023

Mole magic, straight from Oaxaca

The first word that comes to mind when people think of Mexican cuisine is

The first word that comes to mind when people think of Mexican cuisine is probably "taco," and for good reason. But the great glory of Mexican cuisine is mole. Simply put, mole is Mexico's national dish.

The word mole comes from "mulli," meaning "sauce" (alternatively, "watery food") in the Aztec language, Náhuatl. Whether mole originated with the Aztecs is unclear. Moles have found homes in Oaxaca, south of Mexico's capital, as well as Puebla, southeast of Mexico City.

Oaxaca is arguably the Mexican state with the deepest mole tradition. One reason, perhaps, is that unlike in many of the other regions of Mexico, the Zapotec and other native peoples of Oaxaca were thought to have put up relatively light resistance to the Spanish conquest. So, consequently, the Spanish left Oaxacan cuisine relatively untouched in comparison with other regions. That said, today's moles are different from pre-Hispanic versions, including many ingredients unknown before the Spanish conquest.

One of the primary reasons I traveled to Oaxaca last year was to learn about mole in its home — and to learn to make it as it has always been made — from Señora Carina Santiago, a famed cocinera tradicional (traditional cook) in Teotitlán del Valle, a small Zapotec village a short drive outside of Oaxaca City. She and her family operate the restaurant Tierra Antigua in Teotitlán, where many speak Zapotec, not Spanish, as their first language, and more than a few do not speak Spanish at all.

Oaxaca is sometimes called "the land of the seven moles," though it probably should be known as the land of more moles than any human could probably count. Every family has its own recipes. Most fall — sometimes comfortably, sometimes less so — into one of seven categories:

There are other moles, of course. Among the most famous are Mole Poblano from Puebla and Mole Almendrado from San Pedro Atocpan, just outside of Mexico City. The former, along with Oaxacan Mole Negro, are sometimes considered the kings of moles, and the latter is a red mole with almonds.

The origin of mole appears to be lost in time. The prevailing story, likely fictional, is set in the Santa Rosa convent in Puebla in 1685, during a surprise visit by the archbishop. Struggling to come up with a dish worthy of him, the nuns butchered an old turkey and used a mixture of nuts, chocolate, chile peppers, stale bread and spices to season the meat and make it more edible. Much to the nuns’ surprise, the archbishop liked it, and one nun supposedly dubbed the concoction "mole."

The first written record of mole is in Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún's encyclopedic text, "Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva España," also known as the Florentine Codex. The lengthy look at pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, written in the 16th century, recounts how Aztec emperor Moctezuma served a mole to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, whom the Aztecs saw as some sort of god. This story, or some variation thereof, is far more likely.

Today's moles are more complex than what would have been served to Cortés. While they follow the basic pattern of a paste diluted with a liquid, they can be served with enchiladas, tacos or burritos or even as a sauce for vegetables (see below) instead of hunks of meat. Or they can be used as famed chef Enrique Olvera does at his Mexico City restaurant, Pujol, nearly on their own: two different moles served with only some perfect tortillas embedded with hoja santa leaves, an herb sometimes known as Mexican pepperleaf.

It can sometimes be a challenge for those of us north of the border to fully appreciate mole, in part because it is challenging and time-consuming to make. Mole recipes involve 25 or more ingredients, and numerous steps are common.

One issue faced by cooks here is the availability of certain ingredients, particularly chiles such as chilhuacles and costeños, which even can be difficult to find in Tijuana. Fortunately, cascabel chiles substitute well for chilhuacles, and guajillos can replace costeños.

Similarly, few households here have a metate, a flat or slightly hollowed oblong stone for grinding ingredients like chiles, nuts and cacao, using a mano, which looks like a stone rolling pin. The result is that many, if not most, American home cooks turn to commercial jars of mole paste.

There are few opportunities to see or learn about the classic preparation of mole. I knew that was something I needed to see and learn, and so I traveled to Oaxaca City and then a bit further afield to Teotitlán del Valle. Once there, a friend arranged for me to take a class from Santiago. The focus of the class was Mole Negro, the most complex of the Oaxacan moles, but the lessons were applicable to essentially any mole.

Perhaps the essence of those lessons was learning how to properly respect the ingredients. To do that, I needed to learn how to treat these ingredients so as to bring out the best of each. Santiago's classic method required roasting each component individually, either on the comal or in the embers of the fire beneath it. And the roasting was not done to the clock, but watchfully, carefully, until each ingredient had achieved the right texture, aroma or both.

When the ingredients were properly roasted, Santiago transferred them to the metate for grinding. Despite how much the mano may look like a stone rolling pin, it should not be rolled; the hands stay in one position and the mano is pushed over the items to be ground. You shift your weight forward, over the metate, as you grind, never moving your hands from the initial position. As you go back and forth, you grab a bit more of the items to be ground each time you move forward. I suspect Santiago would heartily agree that I was not good at this.

Once all the items are ground to a paste, they are transferred to a pot, diluted with stock and cooked, stirring constantly to achieve the desired saucy consistency. And thus are upward of 20 separate ingredients — nearly 30 for Santiago's mole negro, 25 for the mole rojo recipe below — brought together by ancient alchemy to become a sauce.

Even if you don't own a metate or even a molcajete or a large mortar and pestle, you can still make your own mole. Most homes have food processors or conventional blenders or even high-speed blenders. Purists will contend that grinding yields far superior results, and they may be right, but, in my opinion, the difference is relatively minimal. Even some of those deeply tied to the traditional ways will admit a high-speed blender can do an excellent job of bringing the ingredients of a mole together. It is a shortcut that I, for one, am willing to take.

Makes 10 servings

2 ancho chiles6 red chilhuacle (or cascabel) chiles2 red costeño (or guajillo) chiles4 heaping tablespoons sesame seeds3 heaping tablespoons seedless raisins2 tablespoons Mexican oregano2 tablespoons cilantro leaves10 almonds2 heaping tablespoon walnuts2 heaping tablespoons peanuts4 cloves4 allspice berries3 sticks Mexican cinnamon (about 1 inch each)1 piece ginger (about 1 inch), crushed¼ of a nutmeg, grated (½ teaspoon)1 very ripe plantain6 medium red tomatoes10 tomatillos1 medium white onion3 large cloves garlic1 tablespoon pork lard1 bay leaf1 large avocado leaf6 cups of chicken stock1 (3-ounce) piece of chocolate, groundSalt

Prepare a kettle-style charcoal or wood-burning grill (preferably one with a grate that allows direct access to the coals on one side) and allow the wood or charcoal to establish a slow and steady fire. Devein the chiles, reserving the seeds in one bowl and the flesh of the chiles in a separate bowl.

Heat a comal (or a large cast-iron or other heavy pan) on the grill. When it comes to temperature, toast the chiles lightly (working in batches) until they are aromatic and soft, taking care that they neither blacken nor burn. Remove the chiles from the comal or pan to a pot, cover with hot water, and weigh the chiles down with a plate. Place the chile seeds on the comal or pan over the lowest heat part of the grill and toast them, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once the seeds brown, remove them from the pan to a bowl. Repeat the toasting process with the sesame seeds.

Roast the raisins, herbs, nuts, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, ginger, nutmeg, walnuts and peanuts along with the unpeeled plaintain. Depending on the size of your pan, consider working in batches.

Once all of the ingredients have been browned, remove them to a bowl. Roast the tomatoes and tomatillos either on the comal or pan or directly in the embers. Remove the chiles from the pot of water and replace them with the tomatoes and tomatillos. Cook the tomatoes and tomatillos for 15 minutes, then remove them to a strainer for about 5 minutes. Do not discard the water in the pot.

Remove the comal or pan from the grill and carefully remove the grill grate. Two sets of tongs in heatproof gloved hands are a good way to do so. Once the coals in the grill have burned down to embers, place the unpeeled onions and garlic on the embers, taking care that they do not burn. Cook the onions and garlic until they achieve a soft, juicy texture inside, about 30 minutes. They are done when your fingers can sink into the onion with little resistance.

Add the chiles and tomatoes (and as much reserved soaking liquid as needed) to the bowl of a high-speed blender. Once the chiles and tomatoes are pureed, peel the plantain and add it, along with the other roasted ingredients to the blender and process to a smooth, soft puree. Use additional soaking liquid as needed.

Next, heat a large pot (earthenware if you have one) or Dutch oven over low heat and add the lard. Once the lard is hot, add the bay leaf and avocado leaf to the pot and cook until they are roasted to the point of being aromatic. Add the puree to the pot, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, until the puree boils. Add chicken stock as needed and add the chocolate, continuing to stir, until the chocolate melts into the puree. Continue adding stock as needed, season the mole with salt and continue cooking (and stirring) for 30 minutes. Taste the mole and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Note: If using a conventional blender or food processor instead of a high-speed blender, it is preferable to strain the paste mixture before cooking it in the lard.

North of the border, we tend to think of mole as a sauce for poultry. Perhaps the most famous mole dish is turkey with mole poblano. But that is only one dish, and mole poblano is just one of hundreds of mole sauces. Mole rojo would certainly work well with poultry, but it may pair even more successfully with roasted vegetables. While this recipe is written for the oven, the carrots and Brussels sprouts could be grilled or even smoked to intensify the Baja character of the dish. Doing so would link them with the sweetness of the mole.

Makes 4 servings

FOR THE ROASTED CARROTS:12 medium carrots2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 teaspoon ground cuminKosher salt

FOR THE ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS:12 Brussels sprouts2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oilKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE MOLE ROJO:1 cup Mole Rojo (recipe above)½ cup chicken, vegetable or roast vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove all but the last ¼ inch of the stems of the carrots. Toss the carrots in the olive oil and season with the cumin and salt. Put the carrots on the prepared baking sheet.

Trim off the brown part of the base of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellowed outer leaves. Slice the Brussels sprouts in half from the center of the top down through their base. Place the Brussels sprouts halves in a bowl, toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place them on the baking sheet with the carrots.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast until the Brussels sprouts are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, 35 to 40 minutes. The carrots are done when you can pierce them with a knife and the center slides easily into its middle. Check the vegetables for seasoning.

While the vegetables are roasting, add the Mole Rojo and stock to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender and process to a smooth sauce consistency. Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan and heat over medium flame to a desired consistency and temperature, about 20 minutes.

Arrange the vegetables on a plate and drizzle with the mole sauce.

Gardiner is a freelance food writer whose first cookbook, "Modern Kosher: Global Flavors, New Traditions," published in September 2020. A second book, "Cali-Baja Cuisine: From Tijuana's Taco Stands to San Diego's Cali-Baja Burritos," is expected this fall. He lives in La Mesa.