Charred Carrots With Black Mole Recipes

CHARRED CARROTS WITH ORANGE AND BALSAMIC

Steps:

• Position an oven rack 4 inches away from the broiler and heat the broiler.
• Cut the carrots crosswise into 4-inch lengths. Cut the larger pieces lengthwise in half or quarters so the sticks are roughly 1/2-inch wide.
• Place the carrots on a sheet pan and drizzle them with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss with your hands until coated, then spread the carrots out in an even layer.
• Broil the carrots for about 10 minutes, tossing every few minutes, until they are tender and randomly charred. Top the carrots with the orange zest, orange juice and vinegar, sprinkle with some fleur de sel and toss to coat. Taste for seasonings, then serve warm or at room temperature.

BLACK MOLE

Steps:

• For the chicken broth: Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place all 8 pieces of chicken in a large heavy pot with 8 cups boiling water. Add the garlic, onion and salt. Bring to a boil again. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 1 hour. Remove the chicken and set aside. Maintain a medium heat under the broth as you'll use it again for this recipe.
• For the roasted vegetables: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the tomatoes, onion and garlic onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and roast until the skins are blistered and the vegetables softened, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool. Once cooled, remove the foil and peel the garlic and the skins off the tomatoes.
• For the mole: In a large heavy saute pan heat 1 cup lard. Quick fry the chiles in the hot lard, being careful not to burn them or they'll become bitter. Add the chiles into the pot of chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, add 2 tablespoons lard to the saute pan and fry the roasted onions and garlic. Add the tortilla and bolillo and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, blanched almonds, raisins, oregano, cumin, thyme, coriander seeds, whole black peppercorns and cinnamon stick. Saute for 4 minutes and remove from the heat. Cool slightly. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard.
• Working in two batches, transfer half of the cooled nut and seed mixture into a large-capacity blender. Then transfer half of the simmered chiles, without the broth, into the blender. Add half of the roasted tomatoes and fresh tomatillos. Allow to cool before blending. Process until smooth. A paste will form. If the mixture is too dry, add 1 cup of reserved chicken broth at a time. Strain the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Then repeat with the remaining ingredients, processing until smooth and then strain.
• Clean the saute pan and place over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lard. Pour in the strained mole sauce and cook for 2 minutes. Season with the salt, some pepper and the sugar. Add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved chicken broth and stir to combine. Add the Mexican chocolate and stir to melt. Simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Return the chicken to the saucepan with the mole and cook until the chicken is warmed through, an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large serving bowl or platter. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and a couple pinches of sugar if desired. Drizzle the Mexican crema over the chicken mole and serve hot.

MOLE NEGRO OAXAQUENO: OAXACAN BLACK MOLE

Steps:

• In a 2 gallon stockpot, heat 5 quarts water and onions, celery, and carrots to a boil. Add chicken pieces and poach, covered, over low heat for about 35 to 45 minutes, until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Remove the meat from the stock. Strain and reserve the stock.
• Heat 2 quarts of water in a kettle. On a 10-inch dry comal, griddle, or in a cast-iron frying pan, toast the chiles over medium heat until blackened, but not burnt, about 10 minutes. Place the chiles in a large bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 1/2 hour. Remove the chiles from the soaking water with tongs, placing small batches in a blender with 1/4 cup of the chile soaking water to blend smooth. Put the chile puree through a strainer to remove the skins.
• In the same dry comal, griddle, or frying pan, grill the onion and garlic over medium heat for 10 minutes. Set aside. Toast the almonds, peanuts, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and cloves in a dry comal, griddle or cast-iron frying pan for about 5 minutes. Remove them from the pan.
• Over the same heat, toast the chile seeds, taking care to blacken but not burn them, about 20 minutes. Try to do this outside or in a well-ventilated place because the seeds will give off very strong fumes. When the seeds are completely black, light them with a match and let them burn themselves out. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl. Soak the blackened seeds in 1 cup of cold water for 10 minutes. Drain the seeds and grind them in a blender for about 2 minutes. Add the blended chile seeds to the blended chile mixture.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in an 8-inch cast-iron frying pan over medium heat until smoking. Add the raisins and fry them until they are plump, approximately 1 minute. Remove from the pan. Fry the bread slice in the same oil until browned, about 5 minutes, over medium heat. Remove from pan. Fry the plantain in the same oil until it is well browned, approximately 10 minutes, over medium heat. Set aside. Fry the sesame seeds, stirring constantly over low heat, adding more oil if needed. When the sesame seeds start to brown, about 5 minutes, add the pecans and brown for 2 minutes more. Remove all from the pan, let cool, and grind finely in a spice grinder. It takes a bit of time, but this is the only way to grind the seeds and nuts finely enough.
• Wipe out the frying pan and fry the tomatoes, tomatillos, thyme, and oregano over medium to high heat, allowing the juices to almost evaporate, about 15 minutes. Blend well, using 1/2 cup of reserved stock if needed to blend and set aside. Place the nuts, bread, plantains, raisins, onion, garlic and spices in the blender in small batches, and blend well, adding about 1 cup of stock to make it smooth.
• In a heavy 4-quart stockpot, heat 2 tablespoons of lard or oil until smoking and fry the chile paste over medium to low heat, stirring constantly so it will not burn, approximately 20 minutes. When it is dry, add the tomato puree and fry until the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the ground ingredients, including the sesame seed paste, to the pot. Stir constantly with a wooden soon until well-incorporated, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken stock to the mole, stir well, and allow to cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Break up the chocolate and add to the pot, stirring until it is melted and incorporated into the mixture.
• Toast the avocado leaf briefly over the flame if you have a gas range or in a dry frying pan and then add it to the pot. Slowly add more stock to the mole, as it will keep thickening as it cooks. Add enough salt to bring out the flavor. Let simmer another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not stick, adding stock as needed. The mole should not be thick; just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Place the cooked chicken pieces in the leftover stock in a saucepan and heat through.
• To serve, place a piece of chicken in a shallow bowl and ladle 3/4 of a cup of mole sauce over to cover it completely. Serve immediately with lots of hot corn tortillas.
• You can use oil instead of lard to fry the mole, but the flavor will change dramatically. In our pueblo, people traditionally use turkey instead of chicken, and sometimes add pieces of pork and beef to enhance the flavor. You can use leftover mole and chicken meat to make Enmoladas or Tamales Oazaquenos made with banana leaves.
• Inspired by Maria Taboada and Paula Martinez

OAXACAN BLACK MOLE: MOLE NEGRO

Steps:

• Put the chicken into a saucepan with the garlic, onions, and mint. Add the water to cover and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan, and continue simmering until the chicken is just tender, about 35 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth. Remove the stems from the dried chiles. Slit them open, and remove seeds and veins, reserving the seeds. Toast the chiles for about 50 seconds on each side; if you're using guajillos, toast them longer, until they are almost charred, about 2 minutes.
• Rinse the chiles in cold water, cover with hot water, and leave to soak for about 30 minutes. Put the reserved chile seeds into an ungreased frying pan and toast over fairly high heat, shaking them around from time to time so that they brown evenly. Then raise the heat and char until black. Cover with cold water and set aside to soak for about 5 minutes. Strain and put into a blender jar. Add the broiled tomatoes, unpeeled, to the blender jar along with the water, cloves, allspice, thyme, marjoram, and oregano.
• Heat some of the lard in a small frying pan and fry the sesame seeds until a deep golden color, a few seconds. Strain, putting the fat back into the pan and the seeds into the blender jar, and blend as smooth as possible. Fry the rest of the ingredients, except the chiles and chocolate, 1 by 1, strain, and put into the blender jar, blending after each addition and adding water or broth, as necessary, to release the blades.
• Heat 1/4 cup of the lard in the heavy pan in which you are going to cook the mole, add the blended mixture, and fry over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan from time to time, for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put a few of the chiles and about 2 cups of the water in which they were soaking into the blender jar and blend until smooth. When you have blended all the chiles, add them to the fried ingredients together with the chocolate and cook for 5 minutes longer.
• Add about 4 cups of the chicken broth and continue cooking for 35 minutes. Skim the fat that forms on the top if you are going to make tamales or mole. It is added to color and flavor the masa. Add more broth if necessary, the mole should just coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the chicken and salt to taste; cook for 10 minutes longer.