INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1995    
Mole (pron. mole-a) is a series of Mexican sauces that contain ground
chiles, spices, nuts, often chocolate, sometimes raisins, ground
seeds, etc.  There are three basic types of moles:  Mole Poblano (the
most famous type, and the one that ALWAYS contains  chocolate) was
originated in Pueblo during Colonial times (Mexican  colonial, not
ours) by the nuns who wanted to make a special dish for  a visiting
Archbishop.  The sauce contains ground dried chile  peppers, ground
nuts, ground raisins, broth, chocolate, sometimes  ground corn
tortillas, a small amount of sugar, and various spices.  It is
traditionally served over turkey, with a side dish of unfilled  tamales
(just the cornmeal masa steamed in corn shucks.) It's one of  those
dishes that rarely finds its way out of the country of origin,  and you
either passionately love or passionately hate. I'd post a  recipe if I
could find one (Have recipes for all three versions  floating around
SOMEWHERE, but never got the time to enter 'em into  the computer, so
they're a little tough to find). It may also be  purchased pre-made
(something I recommend, as the bottled version is  excellent, and this
is NOT something you'd want to attack from  scratch on even a
semi-regular basis). If Shirley is interested, I'll  pick up a jar and
ship it your way. Mole Verde (green mole) contains  green chiles,
broth, ground pumpkin seeds, various herbs and spices.  It's usually
served over chicken or pork. Nice stuff, and much easier  for the
beginner to like than the Mole Poblano. Mole Roja (red mole)  is a
sauce that contains red chiles, herbs and spices, ground nuts or
seeds, ground corn tortillas, usually no chocolate. I THINK it comes
from the region around Oxaca.  Again, it's marginally easier to like
than the more well-known version. It's usually served over chicken or
pork.  All of these dishes are virtual throwbacks to the complex (and
to our  palates unusual) combinations of ingredients that were common
in that  part of the country before the arrival of the Spaniards.  None
of the  dishes is particularly hot, they have a complex, haunting
flavor that  speaks of cultures long gone, but not entirely forgotten.
Don't know if you'd like 'em or not, Unka Burt (I do), but if you  want
just a hint of what I'm talking about, throw a square of  unsweetened
chocolate in your next batch of Left-Handed Chili, and  let us know
what you think.  From: Kathy Pitts, Bryan, TX  Posted to FIDO Cooking
echo by Kathy Pitts from Dec 1, 1994 - Jul 31,  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/kpitts.zip

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