I didn't know what mole was until I went to Mexico many years ago. It was at a restaurant in a magical town called Taxco built in the hills outside of Mexico city. I wasn't vegan at the time so we ordered some chicken mole not having a clue what mole was.
I was blown away by the rich sweet savory smoky flavors of this dish.
Three years ago I spent months in Mexico with my partner Marc and noticed everywhere was mole paste in every convenient store. They mostly were free of animal products so I purchased them and made some mole sauce dishes.
Yesterday I did for the first time make my own version of mole sauce from scratch.
A Mexican grandma from Oaxaca would probably cringe at my version of mole. She would say that the peppers should be smoked over fire out in the yard. She would say the spices should be whole and smoked and ground up by hand. She would probably have many other ingredients in it like a special Mexican chocolate. This dish has chocolate which in many parts of the world is considered to be used only for desert. I used unsweetened chocolate chips.
She would probably take most of the day to make it. I took a little over an hour.
There are many variations of this sauce. I grabbed what I could here in Canada to come up with a very delicious and satisfying version of mole.
I like to make things up as I go based on recipes that I've seen so the ingredients and amounts that I list may not be accurate enough for a Mexican grandma but it works if you taste and add as you cook.
4 guajillo chilies, 3 mulato chillies, 1 onion diced, 5 cloves garlic minced,
3 roma tomatoes, 1 plantain, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup peanuts, 1 cup pumpkin seeds, 2 cups dark unsweetened chocolate, 1/2 cup sesame seeds, vegetable soup broth. It is common to add a tortilla or Mexican bread but I only had some flat bread that I had made prior to this so I shredded this up and tossed it in.
The spices I used were, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander.1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, 1/2 teaspoon fennel, 1/2 teaspoon anise seed, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon allspice (I had allspice berries), 1 teaspoon cinnamon,1 star anise,2 bay leaves, thyme, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
I don't have the proper pots and pans for this so I started with cooking the onions in a little olive oil, then adding garlic, then adding the peppers, then covering with vegetable soup broth. I transferred this to a soup pot and used the pan to saute the spices in olive oil.
I transferred the spices to the soup pot and proceeded to toast the nuts and seeds.
I then sauteed the plantains, then tomatoes, raisins and bread.
After simmering these items for around forty five minutes, I blended them all. My blender is small so I did it in parts then stirred the blended parts together adding vegetable broth bit by bit to get it to blend smoothly.
It was quite hot still so when I added the chocolate chips it all melted and turned into a nice smooth sauce.
I set the sauce aside on very low heat while I made the king oyster and black bean mixture.
Starting with the mushrooms, I shredded them with a fork and put them in the oven for a short while to get rid of some of the moisture.
Meanwhile I chopped 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 red and green pepper and 1jalapeno pepper.
I took a can of black beans, drained and rinsed them then mashed them a little with a fork.
After the onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms were cooked in a pan, I added the mashed beans.
When they were cooked together I added the mole sauce. I used around two cups and had quite a bit left over.
I served it with rice and green peas.
The mushroom bean mixture was put on top of more mole sauce and garnished with corn, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds green onions and a slice of lime.
Today we had leftovers so I made some tortillas from masa flour and cornmeal. I know it's easier to buy store bought ones but I like my own better. I like to add half cornmeal and half masa flour.
I don't have a tortilla press so I use a plate to press the balls of dough down between two plastic sheets, and a rolling pin then cutting it out with a pot the right size. This is not for someone who has no time or patience. I have more time now due to business being cut in half.
This is quite delicate when adding to the pan. They can break on the way but once you get them on a hot pan they will behave and stay together. I flip them back and forth. I also cover them at first for a little while.
With the leftover mushroom bean mix, I filled each taco.
I made a vegan chipotle cream with cashew butter, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, chipotle powder, salt,
I had some arugula which is a favorite of mine so I put that on as a garnish. If I would have had an avocado I would have put that on. But the mole sauce is so rich and delicious that it barely needs anything added.
Mexican food is right up there with my favorites like Asian and Indian food but I have to say I love to explore foods from all parts of the world and the Hive cooks here have taught me a lot. I am thankful for their delicious and creative ideas even the ones that are not plant based. I can always be inspired by their ideas and modify them to suit my plant based needs.
Have a great day or evening everyone!