Foreign lovers of Mexican food may think first of tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, or burritos when the topic is broached, but for Mexican nationals mole (moh-lay) is undoubtedly the most iconic Mexican dish. This is a thick, rich sauce filled to the seams with flavor, and making it is a real labor of love. The time-consuming process is part of what makes the decadent sauce so delicious; it could make a meal on its own with a nice, fluffy, fresh tortilla. It’s very common to see this distinctive sauce poured over meat (especially poultry), and enchiladas.
Here are some great facts about this most Mexican of dishes…
Mole is a medley of several ingredients
Mole varies from region to region, and even from family to family, but they all have in common a truly huge number of ingredients. It’s common for mole to have upwards of 30 ingredients. These usually include cinnamon, cloves, bittersweet chocolate, bread crumbs, chilis of some kind or another, and some kind of nut like peanuts or almonds.
Unclear origins
Despite being one of the most widely consumed and loved Mexican delicacies mole is somewhat of a mystery; no one is entirely clear on how it came to be. There are several legends of how mole came to be. One claims that nuns in the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla, when faced with a surprise visit from an Archbishop, threw together a mix of seemingly random ingredients to create a sauce that was served over turkey for the bishop’s dinner. He loved it so much that mole was here to stay! Similarly, a story based in the same convent claims that Fray Pascual accidentally created mole when he spilled an unheard of combination of spices into the pot in which the turkeys were cooking. These legends both concern the most well-known mole, mole poblano, which is a mouth-watering, thick, chocolate infused sauce. Another unlikely version is that Moctezuma, king of the pre-Hispanic Aztec Empire, served mole to the conquistadors, who he believed to be Gods.
Large Quantities
Due to the complexity of the recipes and the time it takes to make Mole it is generally made in large batches which home cooks will take to a local Molino (grinder) so that the consistency can be made just so. Each cook has their own take on mole, and the family recipe is often a treasured family secret.
The next time you dive into a scrumptious mole covered meal you can enjoy it even more knowing how unique these sauces truly are! Why not work on your own type of mole?
