Once again it is time to share another one of my favorite foods with you. I absolutely love mole sauces. They are fantastic on just about every kind of meat. Mole is the perfect combination of spicy and chocolate on your dinner plate. Mole (pronounced mol-lay) is a Mexican sauce typically poured over chicken breasts. Mole is incredibly addictive. Since Cinco De Mayo is right around the corner I thought it was the perfect time to head to #MyMarianos for all the fresh and exotic ingredients needed to make this dish.
I am so lucky to have a Mariano's practically in my backyard. They almost always have every exotic or odd ingredient I'm searching for. From this exotic wall of spices to purple potatoes or even being able to pick up small amounts of nuts and grains, they literally have everything. The staff is also so incredibly helpful. They go out of their way to help you find something. They'll also make suggestions if you can't find what you're looking for. With me this happens more often than not. I just chalk it up to being creative.
There are a few things that come to mind when we think of Mexican foods. Mostly it's a little bit of heat and rich spices with a topping of fresh ingredients. We combined one of our favorite foods. Well, at least Susie's favorite guacamole with a new recipe for tacos. Some slowly cooked beef with a mole pasilla sauce and fresh guacamole to finish it off. While guacamole can and often is enjoyed by itself it really tied the dish together. The raw vegetables added a contrasting sweetness and tartness. The mole sauce is smokey and savory with a hint of chocolate. So, the guacamole added some fresh flavor and a little texture. Using corn tortillas instead of flour not only saves some unnecessary calories but provides a little extra flavor and adds extra protein. The bonus of course is that our corn tortillas were slightly larger and cooked faster meaning more room for the delicious taco fillings.
Where did we go to pick up these ingredients? Mariano's! Their produce section allowed us a one stop shopping trip. They even had already ripe avocados which meant that we could make our guacamole the same day! Instead of waiting for them to ripen on our counter as we sadly pined over the lost time between delicious tacos. Plus with our rewards card we got a deal on some of our ingredients! Always good to know when you scan your card you are saving money on the best produce in town! A quick and easy way to save at our favorite store. You can check out the rest of our shopping trip on Google+.
My recipe is a little different from other moles in that it uses dried pasilla chilies, lots of chocolate and some sugar to bring out the flavor. This recipe is best made a day ahead. Do not be intimidated by the huge ingredient list. While this recipe does take a while to make, it truly is worth it. Mole pasilla tastes even better on the second day. Instead of making a typical meal of chicken breast smothered in mole, I went with something much tastier. Yummy corn tortillas filled with fresh guacamole and slow cooked shredded beef drizzled with mole pasilla. Chocolate for dinner is always a win.Mole Pasilla
5 dried pasilla chilies, stems and seeds removed
1/2 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon majorjam
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sliced almonds
2 tablespoons raw peanuts
1 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded and roasted
2 tomatillos, halved and roasted
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
salt and pepper, to taste
3-4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/4 cup lard
1 corn tortilla, sliced into 8
3 slices stale baguette
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 pounds Black Angus Chuck Roast
Trim large pieces of fat from roast. Grease crock pot and add trimmed roast. Add 1/2 cup water and cook on high 4-6 hours until fork tender. Remove from crock pot and cool.
Remove broiler pan from oven, grease and turn on broiler to high. Slice tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. Remove outer papery wrapper from tomatillos and slice in half. Place cut side down on broiling pan. Roast veggies on high for 8 minutes, remove from oven and flip. Roast for 5 more minutes. Veggie skins should be charred and peel easily away from the rest of the veggie. Remove skins and place rest of veggies in a bowl to cool.
Stem and seed dried chilies. To seed chilies, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut down one side to easily remove seeds. In a dutch oven, set over medium heat add 1/4 cup lard. When lard is hot and melted add the chilies and saute 2-3 minutes. Remove from dutch oven with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.
In the same oil, add the onion and garlic, saute 3-4 minutes or until they start to soften. Stir in almonds, peanuts, raisins and pumpkin seeds. Cook stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes
Stir in spices, let cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Make room in the middle and add bread, tortilla and roasted veggies. Let cook for a few minutes. Add chilies, 1 cup water and 2 cups chicken broth, bring to a simmer. Let simmer 12-15 minutes and then allow everything to sit for 30 minutes.
Before pureeing, melt chocolate in saucepan with 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Add melted chocolate and sugar to dutch oven. Puree everything in dutch oven in batches until smooth. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to use. When reheating, add chicken broth to mole pasilla to liquefy sauce.
Our guacamole recipe is adapted from a restaurant in the area. They made their guacamole fresh to order and right at the table! Of course, as you can see from our photograph the amounts aren't exactly precise. Especially since we added more of some ingredients to suit our own tastes. Even though according to some people we still didn't add enough cilantro. The hard part is figuring out just how much jalapeno you need. You never know exactly how much of a kick you are going to get until you try it! So, we definitely had to add a little bit more. Plus some extra tomato because what we had prepared got lost in the mix.
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium tomato, diced
1/2 jalapeno, diced
3-4 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1-2 teaspoon salt
1 lime
1/4 small onion, diced
First place the garlic and salt in your mortar. Grind into a paste adding some lime juice about a tsp full. Continue to grind until you have a smooth paste.
Then begin adding your avocado. Smashing with the pestle so there are no large chunks left. Transfer avocado mixture into larger bowl. Add in the rest of your ingredients. Mix together and taste. Adjust to your own taste preferences! Eat when you're satisfied with the mixture!
To serve, heat mole pasilla with some chicken broth on the stove. Heat shredded beef in the microwave. Heat corn tortillas in a frying pan on the stove. Layer on corn tortillas like in photo, fold over tortilla and serve.
You can find Mariano's on twitter, facebook and google+.
Then begin adding your avocado. Smashing with the pestle so there are no large chunks left. Transfer avocado mixture into larger bowl. Add in the rest of your ingredients. Mix together and taste. Adjust to your own taste preferences! Eat when you're satisfied with the mixture!
To serve, heat mole pasilla with some chicken broth on the stove. Heat shredded beef in the microwave. Heat corn tortillas in a frying pan on the stove. Layer on corn tortillas like in photo, fold over tortilla and serve.
You can find Mariano's on twitter, facebook and google+.
All I can say is- yum:)!
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