It seems that it could be easier than a bar of chocolate offered for tea. Or chocolate icing on cakes and pastries? And when the word "chocolate" comes to mind melted chocolate drops in cookies, chocolate cream and chocolate chips on ice cream. But not grilled chicken or barbecue meat. However, the Mexicans do not think so, and they seem to think more broadly. Otherwise, they would not have come up with a wonderful chocolate mole - a rich sauce with a pronounced taste of chocolate and spices, which they serve with fried poultry and grilled meat.
Spicy sweet, sweet spicy: a play on words and a kaleidoscope of tastes
And immediately it is worth warning the doubters and other skeptics: chocolate mole is not a sweet sauce, and the chocolate contained in the recipe gives the sauce only a bright piquant note, the role of which in this sauce can hardly be described in words: you need to try it. But you can not go to distant lands, to visit the temperamental hot Mexicans, but create a similar miracle right in your kitchen. Moreover, a spicy, spicy and sweet chocolate mole is best tasted in the cold season: it has a very dense taste that differs from its more traditional counterparts.
Chocolate, nuts, seeds and … hot chili
There is nothing complicated in the technology of making a chocolate mole itself. Mexican cuisine is generally not prone to complicating dishes. But you still have to attend to the set of the appropriate ingredients.
In principle, there are two main characters in this sauce: directly, bitter chocolate and hot red chili, but first things first
So, for a molle chocolate sauce, or Mole Poblano, you need to take ripe tomatoes with dense pulp, sweet purple onions, garlic, any vegetable oil without a bright smell, ordinary salt, broth (chicken or beef), dark chocolate, peanuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds.
From spices you will need ground cloves, a mixture of dry ground peppers, ground cinnamon, anise seeds (crushed in a mortar or ground), dry ground red chili pepper
First, you need to heat vegetable oil in a pan and thoroughly warm up all the spices so that they maximize the aromas
Peel the nuts and fry everything together in a separate bowl in vegetable oil: peanuts, pumpkin seeds and almonds
Blanch and peel the tomatoes, chop randomly. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Add vegetables (tomatoes, garlic, onions), nuts and seeds (almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds) to the stewpan to the spices, pour in a little broth - just to slightly “cover” the contents, mix well and simmer over the lowest heat under the lid for one hour …
After an hour, beat the contents of the pan in a food processor or with a blender. Break the chocolate into small pieces with your hands, add to the sauce and stir until completely dissolved. Season the finished chocolate mole with salt.
Mexican flavor: a meal with peppercorns
The easiest way is to serve such a sauce with fried or baked chicken, sprinkling the finished dish with cilantro, slices of peanuts and red hot pepper rings. As a side dish, rice, Mexican tortillas, or regular thin pita bread are ideal. However, the sauce can also be served as an independent dish, with corn chips or pieces of pita bread dried in the oven.
