I had previously never attempted to make mole because,
correctly, I assumed it had a million ingredient,s and that those ingredients
would be hard to find in Mexican food-deprived NYC. But I stumbled upon a slow-cooker recipe for mole a few days before our annual Dia de los
Muertos party for Xavier's birthday.
http://www.marthastewart.com/868410/slow-cooker-chicken-moleIt looked too easy (and since when is Martha Stewart a mole expert?!), but I decided to give it a shot. The weather forecast was crappy and my informal, picnic in the park looked like it was going to turn into a 25 person dinner party in my tiny apartment. I threw everything in the blender, pureed it until smooth and tasted the sauce. It was surprisingly good....but it felt like a good base and not a finished product. I poked around online a bit and read a bunch of recipes - some good and some bad. Campbell's soup in mole? No. I landed on toasting 1/4 cup each sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds and adding those to the blender to give it more depth. Seeing a great opportunity to use some of my more neglected spices, I then toasted 5 gloves and 1/2 teaspoon each of anise and coriander seeds. So yes, it got more complicated. But it still only involved, toasting and pureeing..and then throwing into a slow-cooker. And the sauce was enough for 8 lbs of chicken.
In the end, it wasn't that much work considering how many people were fed. But next year, I'm hoping for sun. And chips and salsa in the park.
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| Happy 4th Birthday Xavier!! |
