Mexican cuisine

chocolate love: mole poblano

| Simona
mole poblano / IMG_0885

a vegan version of mole poblano that goes with vegetables
(napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO)

In September 2014, I attended LongHouse, where I met Carlos Gaytan, chef of the restaurant Mexique in Chicago1. He brought his mole sauce to the event and I fell in love with something I had not tasted before.

Since then, I have kept alive a desire to make a version of mole poblano and finally the current selection of the Cook the Books club, The Discovery of Chocolate by James Runcie2 gave me the necessary nudge. In this historical novel, young Diego travels to the New World with the conquistador Cortés. In Mexico, Diego discovers chocolate, at the time consumed as a beverage. He also falls in love with Ignacia. Drinking a special concoction she prepares for him makes him immortal, which allows the novel to span centuries and continents, following Diego's adventures and the fortunes of cacao beans and chocolate. In the author's words, the novel is about "Life and death, love and chocolate."

Having decided to make mole poblano, the question became: which recipe? I imagine families have their own recipes and what I found online and in cookbooks are just some examples of a rich and old tradition for a sauce that in the long list of ingredients and in the amount of time it takes to prepare, spells love expressed through food. In making it in my own kitchen I wished to pay homage to such tradition, not to appropriate it.

An nice article on the Seattle Times3 describes the spectrum of options open to whomever wishes to prepare mole poblano and focuses on  one relatively easy and one hard recipe. I chose a middle ground closer to the hard way (a recipe adapted from one by Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu in the Los Angeles Times), which meant a somewhat lengthy preparation using 25 ingredients.

I enjoyed the process and loved the result so much that I made it twice more to test slight variations. Below is the version that I liked best. Note that my choice of ingredients makes the recipe vegan and gluten-free.

Chile display

detail of the chile selection at the Monterey Market in Berkeley

When I went to purchase chiles, I selected a couple of varieties that were not in the source recipe, because I wanted to taste them, including the California chile listed among the ingredients.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for mole poblano (vegan)

Ingredients:

All chiles are whole, medium to medium-large in size

  • 1 dried mulato chile
  • 1 dried pasilla chile
  • 2 dried ancho chile
  • 1 dried California chile
  • 4 tablespoons / 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil, divided
  • 2 cups / 475 ml scalding water
  • 1 plum tomato
  • 1 small cipollini onion, peeled
  • 1 clove garlic peeled
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 1 ounce / 30 g ripe plantain, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 tablespoon shelled raw peanuts
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 2 tablespoons / 20 g raisins
  • 1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon, ground cloves, dried oregano, ground coriander, ground anise seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • A bit of freshly ground pepper (2 turns of the pepper mill)
  • Leaves from 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 small sprig of Italian parsley
  • 3/4 ounce / 21 g Mexican chocolate (Taza 80% cacao) + 1/4 ounce / 7 g unsweetened chocolate 100% cacao, all finely chopped

The night before making mole or early the same day
Remove stems and seeds from the chiles.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium heat and pan-fry the chiles until they become glossy, a couple of minutes.

Place the chiles in a bowl and cover them with the scalding water. Make sure they are submerged. Cover the bowl and let stand overnight or several hours.

When ready to prepare the mole
Drain the chiles and reserve the soaking liquid. Place the drained chiles in a blender. Add enough of the soaking liquid to blend them until smooth. Set aside.

Quarter the tomato lengthwise. Slice the onion crosswise thickly. Roast the tomatoes, the sliced onion and the clove of garlic in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until spotted with brown. Set aside.

Toast the sesame and pumpkin seeds until fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Fry the plantain slices until golden and softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Fry the peanuts, the almonds and the raisins for about one minute. Drain on a paper towel.

Fry the sesame and pumpkin seeds (previously toasted) for 30 seconds. Drain on a paper towel.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a cast-iron pan. Add the puréed chile mixture and enough of the reserved soaking liquid to keep the puréed mixture from sputtering when it simmers. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring often.

Place the spices, seeds, almonds, peanuts and raisins in the blender and process with enough of the soaking liquid to purée. Add to the chile mixture.

Process the roasted tomato, onion and garlic clove, the plantain slices, the salt and pepper, the thyme leaves and the parsley sprig in the blender with enough soaking liquid to purée, then add to the chile mixture. (Note: I use all the soaking liquid)

Add the chopped chocolate and stir until dissolved. Stir a little longer over the heat to bring all ingredients together. Remove from the heat.

Strain the sauce through a mesh strainer to remove any bits of chile skin and return to a clean pot. This step is very important as it ensures a smooth texture. 

Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

My rendition of mole poblano pairs well with different dishes, vegetables (the dish in the opening photo is my "empty the crisper" side dish4 described in the previous post), chicken and mild-flavored fish (like cod). I confess also that I ate it by the spoonful.

1 Update: Chef Gaytán closed down Mexique some time after I wrote this post, then opened a new restaurant called Tzuco (still in Chicago)
2 The novel's page on the author's website
3 Two ways to make Mole Poblano — the hard way and the (relatively) easy way on the Seattle Times
4 "empty the crisper" side dish post and recipe

CtBThis is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

Small_NFlogoThis is my second contribution to the 32nd edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

Fr2018-150Finally, I am contributing to the March edition of Foodies Read the reading/cooking event hosted by Heather of Based on a True Story.

Visit the linkup page to see what others have read and cooked.

FTC disclosure: I have received the napkin free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

mole, chiles, sauce, Mexican cuisine

recipe: mole poblano (vegan)

| Simona

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crema di fagioli / refried beans

| Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

painted pony beans / IMG_2731

painted pony beans (table runners from La FABBRICA del LINO)

The seventh stop of our World Culinary ABC1 is Mexico. To celebrate our virtual visit I made a personal version of frijoles refritos. [Note that the prefix re- in this case means "very" or "well".]

I had some pinto beans and that's the variety I used initially for the recipe. According to wikipedia2 "In northern Mexico and in American Tex-Mex cuisine, refried beans are usually prepared with pinto beans, but many other varieties of bean are used in other parts of Mexico, such as black or red beans."

But then at the farmers' market I saw the beautiful painted pony beans in the photo above and had to try them. This heirloom variety from Mexico is a dual-purpose bean, meaning it can be harvested early as long stringless snap beans (fagiolini) or later as dry beans. One nice thing of these beans is that, when cooked, they retain their characteristic brown and white bicolor markings.

To make the dish, beans are first stewed then mashed and then cooked again with various seasonings. The variations for each step are countless. My rendition is light and mild in flavor to accommodate my household's preference foods that are not too spicy.

refried beans / IMG_2748

a non-traditional but successful pairing with savory scones

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Refried beans

Ingredients for the beans:

  • 1 cup / 200 g / 7 ounces pinto beans or painted pony beans or other dried beans of choice
  • 4 cups / 950 ml water
  • A bay leaf
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • A handful of parsley stems (you will use the leaves later)
  • 2 small sprigs fresh winter savory (santoreggia montana) or oregano
  • A 2-inch / 5 cm piece of kombu (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Additionally:

  • 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 ounces / 170 g onion, finely chopped
  • A pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Fine sea salt, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

How to cook dry beans
The way I cook beans for further use comes from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (Beans with Aromatics). After soaking the beans for several hours or overnight in the water, empty the whole bowl into a saucepan and add all the aromatics.

Bring the water to a lively boil quickly, and keep it there for five minutes, then turn down the heat and let the beans simmer, covered, until they are ready. How long this takes depends on the type of beans and their freshness. Add salt and stir.

Let the beans cool in their broth, then remove the aromatics and discard them. Let the beans rest in their cooking broth until ready to use.

How to finish the dish
Warm up the olive oil in a frying pan (large enough to also accommodate the beans) and add onion, cumin and red pepper flakes. Cook on gentle heat until the onion is soft and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle a bit of salt and stir.

While the onion cooks, drain the beans, leaving them moist and saving the liquid. Mash the beans, preferably with an immersion blender, which lets you control the level of smoothness of the final product. You want to leave some texture, i.e., do not process until smooth.

Add mashed beans to the onion, stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour 1/2 cup / 120 ml of the beans' cooking liquid into the pan and stir. Cook, stirring often, until the beans reach the desired consistency. (Use more of the beans' cooking liquid if necessary.) Season with salt, to taste, and take off the heat.

Sprinkle parsley, stir well and serve. (I actually like them better the day after). 

painted pony beans / IMG_2731-2

soft in sepia

1 The World Culinary ABC kick-off post.
2 wikipedia: refried beans.

FTC disclosure: I have received the table runners free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting the product on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

I contribute my refried beans to the 7th installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. G like Guadalajara (Mexico) is hosted by Lucia of Torta di rose.

The list of recipes contributed to the event and their slide show.

MLLA_logoI contribute my refried beans also to My Legume Love Affair #81, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen, and hosted this month by Siri of Cooking with Siri.

The roundup of the event.

New bww logoThe bottom photo is my contribution to edition #158 of Black and White Wednesday – A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted until March 4 by Shri of Tiffin Carrier Antic/que's.

The photo was shot in color with my iPhone and then converted to sepia (Lightroom preset Sepia Tone).

The gallery of images contributed to the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

crema di fagioli

or launch the crema di fagioli audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

beans, onion, Mexican cuisine, side dish

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Newrule

crema di fagioli messicana

fagioli "painted pony"

fagioli "painted pony" (centro tavola de La FABBRICA del LINO)

La settima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale1 è il Messico. Il piatto che ho scelto per celebrare questa tappa si chiama frijoles refritos. [Il prefisso re- in questo caso significa "molto" o "ben."]

Avevo dei fagioli pinto ed è questa la varietà che ho usato all'inizio per preparare la ricetta. Secondo wikipedia2 "Nel Messico settentrionale e nella cucina americana Tex-Mex, refried beans di solito di preparano con i fagioli pinto, ma altri tipi di fagioli sono utilizzati in altre zone del Messico, come i fagioli neri e quelli rossi."

Poi al farmers' market ho visto dei bei fagioli "painted pony" e ho voluto provarli. Da questa varietà di origine messicana si possono ottenere sia fagiolini verdi che fagioli da seccare. Il disegno bicolore caratteristico si mantiene durante la cottura.

Per preparare frijoles refritos, i fagioli prima vengono bolliti, poi schiacciati e poi cotti di nuovo con vari condimenti. Le variazioni ad ogni passo sono infinite. La mia versione è leggera e delicata di sapore per onorare la preferenza della famiglia per cibi non piccanti.

crema di fagioli messicana / IMG_2748

connubio non tradizionale ma di successo con degli scone salati

Ingredienti per i fagioli:

  • 200 g fagioli secchi: pinto o painted pony o borlotti o altra varietà simile
  • 950 ml d'acqua
  • una foglia d'alloro
  • una cipolla piccola tagliata in quarti
  • 2 spicchi d'aglio tagliati a fettine
  • una piccola manciata di steli di prezzemolo (userete le foglie in seguito)
  • 2 rametti di santoreggia montana oppure origano freschi
  • un pezzo da 5 cm di alga kombu (facoltativo)
  • 1 cucchiaino sale fino

Altri ingredienti per la crema:

  • 1 cucchiaio / 15 ml olio extra-vergine di oliva
  • 170 g cipolla tritata
  • un pizzico di fiocchi di peperoncino
  • 1/8 cucchiaino cumino in polvere
  • sale fino, q.b.
  • 2 cucchiai prezzemolo fresco tritato

Cuocere i fagioli
Il metodo che uso per cuocere i fagioli secchi viene da Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone di Deborah Madison (Beans with Aromatics). Dopo aver tenuto in ammollo 100 g di fagioli in 475 ml d'acqua per diverse ore o tutta la notte, versare il tutto in una pentola e aggiungere gli odori.

Portare a bollore vivace e mantenerlo per 5 minuti, poi abbassare il calore e far cuocere, coperti, fino a quando i fagioli non sono teneri. Il tempo necessario dipende dal tipo di fagioli e dalla loro freschezza.

Far freddare i fagioli nel liquido di cottura, poi rimuovere gli odori e scartarli. Lasciare i fagioli nel liquido di cottura fino a quando non li utilizzate.

Completare la preparazione
In una padella (grande abbastanza da poter accomodare anche i fagioli in seguito), scaldare l'olio e aggiungere la cipolla. Mescolare poi aggiungere cumino e peperoncino. Cuocere a fuoco dolce fino a quando la cipolla sia morbida e dorata, 20 minuti circa. Salare leggermente e mescolare.

Mentre la cipolla cuoce, scolare i fagioli lasciandoli un po' umidi. Conservare il liquido di cottura. Questo è uno dei vantaggi di cuocere i fagioli da soli (piuttosto che comprarli in scatola): il liquido di cottura è aromatico e quindi utilizzabile nella preparazione del piatto per il quale avete cotto i fagioli.

Schiacciare i fagioli preferibilmente con il minipimer che vi permette di controllare il livello di cremosità del prodotto finale. In questo caso, non ridurre i fagioli ad una crema omogenea, ma lasciarne una parte in pezzi.

Versare i fagioli nella padella con la cipolla, mescolare bene e poi cuocere per un paio di minuti. Versare nella padella 120 ml del liquido di cottura dei fagioli e mescolare. Cuocere, mescolando spesso, fino a quando la crema di fagioli raggiunga la consistenza desiderata. (Se necessario, utilizzare ancora un po' del liquido di cottura dei fagioli.) Condire con un po' di sale, q.b., e togliere dal fuoco.

Spargere il prezzemolo sulla crema, mescolare e servire. (Di fatto, io la preferisco il giorno dopo.)

1 Post inaugurale dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale.
2 wikipedia: refried beans.

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto il centrotavola gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentare il prodotto sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

Con questa ricetta partecipo alla settima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 27 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. G come Guadalajara (Messico) è ospitata da Lucia di Torta di rose.

La lista di ricette contribuite all'evento e lo slide show che le mostra. 

 

recipe: refried beans

| Simona
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