Manchamantel Mole

I love mole, and love making mole even more. Yes, they are complex, take time, but every time I invest the time to make one, I am so happy with the results. Moles are extremely varied, similar to curries, and sambals, and other sauces, but I seem to gravitate towards a mole more than usual.

This mole literally means "tablecloth stainer"and I always find myself in a white cotton teeshirt when making these deeply staining moles! This sauce is rich, sweet from the pineapple and apples, but layered with spice from the ancho and New Mexico chiles.

You can layer this mole on anything, just add it to chicken and grill or bake, cook it with meat or pork till tender. Use the resulting tender shredded meat for tacos or burritos.

For more recipes from this cookbook click here.

Ingredients:

5 dried Ancho chiles

2 dried New Mexico chiles

Water

1 clove roasted garlic, or regular

1 Roma tomato, diced

3/4 cup pineapple, diced

1 overripe plantain, peeled and diced

1/2 green apple, cored and diced

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 cup pineapple juice

3-4 generous tablespoons oil

Toast the chiles in the oven. Layer them on a baking sheet and broil them about 8 inches from the broiler till toasted. Alternatively, toast them on an open flame on your stove using tongs. Add the chiles to boiling water and allow to sit for 1 hour. I usually add just enough water to submerge them and weigh them down with a bowl so the stay submerged.

Once they have rehydrated, remove all the seeds and ribs, keeping the skins. I do this step as most pepper seeds are bitter and tend to spoil the dish.

You can buy roasted garlic almost anywhere. However, you want the whole cloves, not the pureed kind. To roast them at home, fold the garlic cloves in a piece of foil in a single layer with a spray of olive oil. Bake at 375˚C for 15-20 minutes. I make a batch and they freeze well>

Blend the skins, the strained soaking water for the chiles, and all the other diced ingredients to a smooth puree.

Heat a deep pot and add the oil. Add the paste and all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and swwet if needed.

You can freeze this mole very well.