From Truly
Mexican, Roberto Santibañez, John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
This recipe was really for lamb to be cooked
in the mole but I thought I could readily make the mole separately and serve it
with vegetables for myself and with the lamb for my partner. This is the method
I followed for my vegetable dish.
I took 2 guajillo chillies, sliced them in
half and took out the seeds and veins. They were then put in a bowl and covered
with water to soak for about half an hour.
In the meantime I took 2 dried arbol chillies
and toasted them in a hot pan until they had changed colour and developed the
odd black spot.
The guajillos and the arbols them went into
the blender with 3 tomatillos (I used tinned as fresh were unobtainable), a
good half cup of chopped coriander, ¼ cup masa harina, 2 garlic cloves, ½
teaspoon aniseed, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 6 black peppercorns, 2 cloves and ½
teaspoon salt. A cup of vegetable stock was added (the recipe called for the
liquid from the braising lamb but I used stock instead). The mixture was
churned until it was smooth and then put through a sieve.
I used half of this sauce in the lamb that
was braising but the other half was for my vegetable dish. I added a carrot cut
into pieces and a medium-sized potato peeled and cut into pieces. The mixture
was brought to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. I now added a zucchini cut
into pieces and ½ cup peas to cook for another 10 minutes. I checked for
seasoning and added a little salt.
I found this was a very acceptable vegetable
dish. The rich velvety sauce of a mixture of spices and chillies served the vegetables
really well. I had it with warmed tortillas rolled up and dipped into the
sauce. There was enough left for the next evening when it was eaten with
Mexican white rice. Now that I have tried this easier mole I’m ready to try
some more involved ones and see where it leads me.
Taste: ✔✔✔✔
Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔
