Charred Carrots With Black Mole Food

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

SMOKED CARROTS WITH COFFEE MOLE DIRT

Steps:

• For the coffee mole dirt: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with a silicone liner.
• Combine the sugar, almond flour, melted butter, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, smoked paprika, ancho powder, cumin and salt in a bowl. Pour evenly onto the lined baking sheet and bake until evenly browned and crunchy, 15 to 20 minutes.
• For the carrots: Preheat a pellet grill according to the manufacturer's instructions to 325 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add the whole carrots to the boiling water and blanch until they are cooked but still have some crunch, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate. Toss the carrots with 2 tablespoons olive oil and some salt and pepper and put on the grill. Grill until just starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
• Put the carrots back on a plate, then drizzle with more oil and half of the lime zest and juice and sprinkle with the smoked sea salt.
• Mix together the sour cream and remaining lime zest in a bowl. Slather the crema on a serving platter and top with the carrots. Top the carrots with the "dirt" and serve. (Reserve any remaining dirt for another use in a container with a tight-fitting lid.)

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.

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.