Best Fridas Green Mole Recipes
JADE'S HOME FRIES
Provided by Giada De Laurentiis
Categories side-dish
Time 45m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven as it preheats for about 10 minutes.
- Place the russet potatoes and sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the seafood seasoning and salt. Toss well to coat evenly.
- Using a hot pad or towel, remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and pour in the wedges.
- Bake, stirring halfway through, until deep golden brown and beginning to crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.
FRIDA'S GREEN MOLE RECIPE
The first time I visited Mexico City, many years ago, I dined in the Zona Rosa at Fonda El Refugio, a traditional restaurant that opened my eyes to a number of dishes I hadn't seen at home in Los Angeles. One of those dishes was mole poblano, a dish I had heard of, but never tasted.Intrigued, I ordered it. Astonished by its richness and intensity -- chocolaty and spicy at the same time -- I wiped every trace from the plate and even brought home the plate (in those days, El Refugio sold its dinnerware). It was like nothing I had ever eaten.I returned to Mexico many times after that mole-awakening, often exploring regions where mole was important, particularly Puebla, Oaxaca and Veracruz. I marveled at the sheer variety and deliciousness of local variations of this rich, spicy sauce made of dried chiles, almonds, peanuts, chocolate and many more ingredients ground into a paste, thinned with broth and served with meat. It was fascinating to see how one dish could be so intricately changed and embellished from region to region and cook to cook.Originally, the dish was made with turkey; moles using the indigenous fowl became fashionable throughout the state of Puebla. Because it was labor-intensive and expensive, it eventually became the fiesta dish, spreading to other regions. It still enjoys that honor."Mole is present at every special event of our lives," says Jalisco-born chef Ramiro Arvizu of the Cenaduria La Casita Mexicana in Bell.Mole as we know it was created in the late 17th century, when a banquet was arranged in Puebla for a newly arrived viceroy. The task of preparing the main dish fell to a Dominican nun, Sor Andrea de la Asuncion of the Convent of Santa Rosa, whose cooking was much sought after by the city's elite. In those days, convents were renowned for exquisite cooking. The nuns concocted intricate sweets, pastries, liqueurs and other dishes, applying Spanish and Moorish cookery techniques to indigenous ingredients.The dish's name came from mulli or molli (sauce) in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Its ancestor was an aristocratic, chocolate-flavored concoction served to the emperor Moctezuma. More than a century later, in Sor Andrea's inspired hands, it became a sumptuous dish, delighting the viceroy and earning its standing as Mexico's national dish. The beautiful tiled kitchen of the convent where mole was created is now a museum, and shops in Puebla sell mole paste as a souvenir.I also sampled wonderful mole plates in Veracruz, the Gulf state which borders Puebla. Particularly good were those at Dona Josefina, a restaurant in the mountain town of Naolinco, and those at Meson Xiqueno, in the colonial town of Xico. On one of the main streets of Xico are shops that sell rich brown Xico-style mole paste -- cooks use this as a shortcut to cooking the labor-intensive dish. Of course I couldn't resist picking some up to bring home.The moles are basically the same style in Puebla, Veracruz and Guanajuato, where I bought a homemade paste that was so good I never cooked with it but ate it just the way it was, spread on a warm tortilla. Sweet, fragrant with spices, chile-infused yet elegantly balanced, it was a peak taste, a landmark in my search for great mole.The one state where moles are different is Oaxaca, the "land of the seven moles." There you find mole negro (black mole), as well as red, green and yellow moles and moles estofado, coloradito and chichilo. The variations among them result from the particular chiles used, whether the chiles are dried or fresh (for green mole they are fresh), whether the tortillas used to thicken the mole are roasted (as they are for mole negro), any vegetables or herbs included (for instance, herba santa is used in green mole), any fruits used (raisins are an ingredient in estofado; plantain is used in mole poblano) and whether or not chocolate is included (for green and yellow it is not).Although Southern California has always been rich in Mexican food, wonderful moles were hard to come by -- until fairly recently. It used to be that when you did find them, they were pedestrian, often hastily made with commercial pastes.California's changing molesNow terrific restaurant moles are plentiful -- you just have to know where to look. As in Mexico, poblano-style mole is most common, though in Oaxacan restaurants, it would be mole negro (known as "king of the moles" in Oaxaca).California's growing -- and changing -- Mexican American population has not only increased the demand for mole, but also supplied cooks who know how mole should be made. And the Oaxacan migration that has mushroomed over the past two decades has brought the seven moles from that state to ours. Because our city's best Mexican chefs are willing to share their recipes for contemporary versions of this time-honored dish, it's now possible to dine at home on the dish once relished by Mexican royalty.In Southern California, as in Mexico, there are as many variations of mole as there are cooks. Some versions are spicy, others mild. Some are very sweet, and others rely on only the sugar blended into Mexican chocolate tablets.Pastes to tasteEven the type of chocolate used can vary. In Mexico, it is common to hand-select the components of the chocolate, which include cacao beans, almonds, sugar and spices, and have them ground to taste.In the original mole, turkey that had been fattened with chestnuts and hazelnuts was simmered in the sauce, according to "La Tipica Cocina Poblana," a 1945 cookbook by Salazar Monroy.Today's chefs tend to use chicken; for convenience's sake, it is often roasted or boiled separately, then sauced with the mole. But traditionally meats were cooked in the sauce that suffused it with flavor.Not everyone has the time or skill to blend their own sauce, so even in Mexico, cooks use the pastes, which include the basic components -- chiles, chocolate, nuts and spices. There's no shame in this -- the pastes can be very good, and skilled cooks enrich them until they meet their own high standards by adding tomatoes, additional chocolate, sugar and other seasonings and freshly made broth. And mole negro requires dried chiles not available here, such as the chilhuacle, so for authentic flavor, it is necessary to use a paste from Oaxaca.Mayordomo, the famous chocolate producer of Oaxaca, has recently begun to export the red and black mole pastes that formerly were sold only at its outlets in downtown Oaxaca. (It's available at www.mexicochoco.com; other brands are widely available in L.A.)Mole sauces usually get their body from a thickener, such as tortillas or bread, or both. A woman from Puebla told me that she uses animal crackers.Today you can find moles made not only with chicken, but also with pork. But it's not just for saucing meats; mole is also used in many other ways. Enmoladas are enchiladas sauced with mole. In Oaxaca, mole negro is a popular filling for tamales; you can find them in L.A.'s Oaxacan restaurants (such as Guelaguetza) or Oaxacan delis. In Puebla, a cozy little restaurant called La Gardenia garnishes rice with mole sauce. Here at home, Cenaduria La Casita Mexicana serves it with chips, flautas, chiles rellenos, chilaquiles, even huevos rancheros.Our mole poblano recipe comes from La Casita's chef-owners Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu. They went to Puebla to research the dish, then added their own refinements, boosting the chocolate flavor by adding ground toasted cacao beans as well as Mexican chocolate tablets. It's a dense, rich mole with intense chile flavors.To make it, five kinds of chiles are fried and then soaked overnight. The next day, they're pureed, then added to a sauce made of roasted and ground tomatoes, several kinds of seeds, nuts, plantain, raisins, chocolate and more. Partially cooked chicken is finished by simmering in the sauce; we adapted the recipe for turkey, as well.Like Oaxacan mole verde (green mole), ours is made with fresh chiles rather than dried, but it comes from a Mexico City-born chef. Yerika Munoz, chef of Frida Mexican Cuisine in Beverly Hills, also uses pepitas (pumpkin seeds), tomatillos, lettuce and cilantro along with poblano, serrano and jalapeno chiles. The result is a very fresh, light tasting sauce that makes a perfect pairing with pork. This adaptation is made with pork shoulder roast and is less labor-intensive than many moles.One of the specialties of Maria Lopez of the Guelaguetza restaurants in Koreatown is coloradito, a sweet, lightly colored Oaxacan mole. Her recipe offers an efficient sequence for roasting tomatoes, chiles, seeds, spices and other ingredients in a skillet, then pureeing, simmering and adding chocolate and thickener.In a cooking class dedicated to mole at the Academia Falcon in Guanajuato, my classmates and I ground up fried bolillo roll, plantain, tomato, peanuts and cloves and stirred this into mole paste from the local market, along with freshly made chicken broth, sesame seeds, additional chocolate and sugar. Even though we were beginners, the result, which we used to sauce the boiled chicken, was sensational.Sor Andrea had to prepare her mole for a viceroy, but my class was luckier. There were no exalted guests to feed, so we ate it all ourselves.
Provided by Barbara Hansen
Categories MAINS
Time 3h15m
Yield Serves 8
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven. Add the pork shoulder and sear on all sides. Pour 2 cups chicken broth into the pan and cover. Place in a 325-degree oven and cook until the meat is extremely tender and easily pulled apart with a fork, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic and tomatillos and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the peanuts and the raw pepitas and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the cilantro, epazote, lettuce, tortilla pieces, bolillo slices and chiles. Stir in the remaining chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chiles are soft and flavors have blended, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let the mixture cool slightly, then blend in batches until smooth. Add a little water or broth (one-fourth to one-half cup) if necessary to make a thick but pourable sauce.
- Return the sauce to the pan and heat to serving temperature. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste. Makes 6 cups sauce.
- To serve, shred the cooked pork and arrange on a serving platter. Pour the sauce over the top and sprinkle with pepitas.
PISTACHIO GREEN MOLE (MOLE VERDE DE PISTACHE)
Many Mexican moles require hours of cooking and a laundry list of ingredients, but this green mole does not. This vibrant vegan version is made with herbs, baby spinach and pistachios, and the sauce comes together in about 30 minutes. This recipe calls for zucchini or summer squash, but feel free to swap in another roasted vegetable, depending on the season. The chef Enrique Olvera included it in his "Tu Casa Mi Casa" cookbook to show how fresh and seasonal a mole can be.
Provided by Sara Bonisteel
Categories tacos, vegetables, main course
Time 50m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast until lightly brown, about 15 to 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the mole: In a pot, heat the grapeseed oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatillos and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add 2/3 cup water and the pistachios and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender along with the cilantro, hoja santa and spinach. Blend until smooth, about 3 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve the mole warm, with the roasted zucchini. Top with greens and serve rice and tortillas alongside.
GREEN MOLE
Steps:
- Put the chicken pieces, onion, and garlic into a large saucepan; add water or chicken broth to cover and add salt. Add the optional giblets if you are making this with water. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat until the meat is almost tender but still firm, about 25 minutes. (A lot will depend on the quality of the chicken.) If using pork, cook for about 20 minutes longer. Strain, reserving the broth. Reduce or add water to make up to 6 cups (1.5L).
- Put the sesame seeds into an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring them constantly until they become a deep golden color, about 5 minutes. Take care not to let them burn. Spread them out on a tray to cool. Put the pumpkin seeds into the pan and stir them until they begin to swell and start to pop around, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. When the seeds are cool, grind the sesame first with the cloves, peppercorns, and allspice to a slightly textured powder. Then grind the pumpkin seeds to the same texture. Transfer both to a bowl and stir in 1 cup (250ml) of the reserved broth to make a thick paste.
- Heat about 3 tablespoons of the lard or oil in a heavy casserole, add the seed paste, and fry over medium-low heat, scraping the bottom of the pan constantly to avoid sticking - if necessary add a little more fat - until dry, shiny, and a rich deep golden color.
- Unless you have a large blender jar you may need to blend the greens in two batches, but try to use the minimum of liquid. Put 1 cup (250ml) of the broth into the blender jar and add the garlic, tomate verde, and chiles and blend fairly smooth. Gradually add half of the greens and blend as smoothly as possible. Add the rest of the greens little by little, with just enough of the broth to enable the blades of the blender to work efficiently.
- Gradually stir the blended ingredients into the fried seed paste over medium heat, stirring the mixture well after each addition. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce starts to reduce and thicken, for about 10 minutes. Add the remaining broth and cook for a further 10 minutes - pools of oil will form around the periphery. Add the meat, adjust salt, and cook for a further 10 minutes. Dilute with more broth or water if desired. Serve with corn tortillas.
MOLE VERDE: GREEN MOLE
Steps:
- Toast the pumpkin seeds in an ungreased pan, turning them over and shaking the pan from time to time to prevent them from burning. Set them aside to cool and then grind them in an electric grinder to a fine powder. Put 1 1/2 cups of the broth in a blender, gradually adding the tomates verdes, lengua de vaca, hoja santa, chopped epazote, and chiles, blending as smooth as possible.
- Heat the lard in a flameproof casserole in which you are going to serve the mole and fry the blended ingredients, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking; cook for about 25 minutes. Add the rest of the epazote.
- Stir 1/2 cup of the broth into the pumpkin seeds until you have a smooth consistency and gradually stir into the cooked ingredients. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly for 10 more minutes. Take care that the pumpkin seed mixture does not form into lumps; if this happens, put the sauce back into the blender and blend until smooth. Add any remaining broth and salt, to taste. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water to dilute.
GREEN MOLE WITH PORK
Provided by Zarela Martinez
Categories Herb Pork Cinco de Mayo Dinner Meat Tomatillo Jalapeño Hominy/Cornmeal/Masa Dairy Free Wheat/Gluten-Free Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free No Sugar Added
Yield Makes 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Choose a deep saucepan or Dutch oven large enough to hold the meat comfortably. Place the tied pork loin and bones in it along with the peppercorns, salt, and 4 of the garlic cloves. Add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch (at least 7 cups). Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, partly covered, for 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center reads 120° F. (Do not worry about the low temperature. The meat will cook more thoroughly in reheating.) Remove the meat and bones from the cooking stock and set aside. Strain the stock; you should have about 6 cups.
- Grind the cloves and cumin together in an electric coffee or spice grinder, or with a mortar and pestle. Place the ground spices in a blender with the chiles, tomatillos, onion, thyme, marjoram, the remaining 5 garlic cloves, and 1/2 cup of the strained stock. Process until smoothly puréed (about 2 minutes on high).
- Return the remaining strained stock to the pan; bring back to a boil, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Add the puréed mixture to the hot stock and cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes.
- Thin the masa by mixing with 1 cup water. Whisk the thinned masa into the stock mixture; whisking constantly, let the sauce return to the simmer.
- Cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. If lumps form, pass the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve (pushing with a spoon to force through the lumpy bits) and return to the heat. The mixture should thicken to the consistency of whipping cream; if necessary, increase the heat slightly to reduce and thicken it.
- Untie the cooked pork and carve into serving pieces. Carve the bones into separate rib sections.
- Place the parsely, epazote, and hoja santa in a blender or food processor. If using a blender, add a few tablespoons water to facilitate blending. Process to a smooth purée.
- Add the cooked beans to the masa-thickened sauce and let return to a simmer. Return the carved meat and bones to the pot along with the puréed herbs. Taste and add more salt if desired. Cook until just heated through, 4 to 5 minutes. Give each person a piece or two of rib bone along with the meat and sauce. Serve immediately.
GREEN MOLE WITH CHICKEN
Green mole is one of the best destinations I can think of for the tough outer leaves from a head of romaine or leaf lettuce. If you don't eat meat, you can make the mole with vegetable broth and enjoy it over rice and vegetables.
Provided by Martha Rose Shulman
Categories dinner, main course
Time 2h
Yield 6 to 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- To poach the chicken, combine all of the ingredients except the chicken in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer 20 minutes. Add the chicken breasts and skim off any foam when the liquid comes back to a simmer. Partly cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, or longer if possible. Then, using tongs, remove the chicken breasts to a sheet tray or bowl. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skin. Cover and set aside. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined strainer and measure out 3 cups. Skim off the fat from the top. (If you do this step the day before, chill the stock first, then skim off the fat from the top. Chill any remaining stock, skim off the fat and freeze.)
- To make the mole, heat a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Wait until you hear one pop, then stir constantly until they have puffed and popped, and smell toasty. They should not get any darker than golden, or they will taste bitter. Transfer to a bowl or a baking sheet and allow to cool. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the seeds for garnish.
- If you're using fresh tomatillos, bring a medium pot of water to a simmer, add the tomatillos, and simmer for 10 minutes, flipping them over in the water halfway through, until soft. Drain and place in a blender. If using canned tomatillos, drain and place them in a blender. Add the cooled pumpkin seeds, the chilies, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of the stock. Cover the blender and blend the mixture until smooth, stopping the blender to stir if necessary. If necessary, do this in 2 batches.
- Heat the Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately on contact. Add the oil, wait for a minute, then drizzle in a bit of the pumpkin seed mixture; if it sizzles loudly, add the rest, holding the lid above the pan, as the mixture will spatter. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens and thickens, about 5 minutes. It will splutter, so be careful. Hold the lid of the pot above the pot to shield you and your stove from the splutters. Stir or whisk in the remaining stock, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
- To serve, place the chicken breasts in the pot with the mole and warm on top of the stove, then remove the chicken pieces to a platter and nap with the warm sauce; or place in a large, attractive baking dish, pour on the sauce, cover and warm in a low oven (275 degrees) for 20 minutes. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and pumpkin seeds. Serve with rice.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 199, UnsaturatedFat 9 grams, Carbohydrate 8 grams, Fat 13 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 13 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 1093 milligrams, Sugar 4 grams, TransFat 0 grams
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