I suspect that mole negro has a much earlier history than the nuns of Puebla claim. I have made it numerous times, from recipes entitled alternately Mole Poblano or Mole Negro de Oaxaca, and there is no substantial difference. Interesting that you would publish this today, as just two nights ago I made chicken in mole negro, the sauce based on a packet of mole paste that was branded by Guelaguetza, which is an award-winning Oaxacan restaurant in Los Angeles, which I try to visit whenever I am there. The paste was blended with tomato puree and chicken stock and briefly cooked together--easy peasy, and delicious, albeit a bit sweeter than when I make it from scratch. A friend of mine who lived in Mexico City for many years told me that middle class cooks in Mexico all use mole paste, due to how labor intensive it is to make from scratch and their lack of household servants. The shortcut recipe you posted, lacking plantain, burned tortilla, sesame seeds, broth, likely wouldn't compare well with a mole negro made with reconstituted, high-quality Oaxacan mole paste. A possibly interesting postscript related to the Olmec culture: when I was a clinical social worker in an orthopedic rehab in Upper NW DC, I encountered an elderly woman with a fascinating past. Her first husband had been Matthew Sterling, the anthropologist who was supposedly the model for Harrison Ford's character in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Sterling was the one who first re-discovered the Olmec heads, and she had gone with him on two or three different expeditions to the jungle, that were sponsored by The National Geographic Society. They brought along photographers and filmmakers to document the excavations, and when I expressed interest in learning more, she showed me old copies of National Geographic Magazine, with articles they had written, including photographs. She was posed, sitting on top of one or two of the heads to demonstrate scale. What a life!
Many thanks for yr comment, Zora - the whole subject of when and where and how the idea of mole came to be is fascinating. And I quite agree that as a preparation the idea of a pounded sauce prepared with dried chillis well predates the nuns' story. All those Old World ingredients, for a start, in the modern version. And chilli flakes are still offered as an alternative to sugar at the chopped-fruit stalls in DF. Which prompted me to look up Diana Kennedy (she was a friend my mother's in Mexico) to see if she gives mole recipes in 'Oaxaca al Gusto': she has loads, often listed as a sub-heading, as you might when separating main ingredients from an accompanying salsa. Mole zapoteco, for instance - a wedding dish, so luxurious - is a turkey or chicken stew for which the jointed bord is cooked in the mole (ingredients guajillo:ancho 2:1, garlic, allspice, cloves, cumin, Mexican marjoram, thyme and breadcrumbs.
Thank you so much for this entry. My maternal abuelos immigrated separately from Aguascalientes to El Paso, Texas in the late 1910s. My grandmother and aunt always made turkey mole for family celebrations and it remains one of my favorites. Shortcuts for them included a kickstarter with an 8 oz. jar of Doña María mole sauce. I also recall them adding slices of white bread to thicken. But, as a 6–8 year old, I cannot recall not much else in terms of their recipe, but can still taste its wonderfully complex flavor and texture. For holidays, three turkeys were cooked with the third reserved for the mole.
I suspect that mole negro has a much earlier history than the nuns of Puebla claim. I have made it numerous times, from recipes entitled alternately Mole Poblano or Mole Negro de Oaxaca, and there is no substantial difference. Interesting that you would publish this today, as just two nights ago I made chicken in mole negro, the sauce based on a packet of mole paste that was branded by Guelaguetza, which is an award-winning Oaxacan restaurant in Los Angeles, which I try to visit whenever I am there. The paste was blended with tomato puree and chicken stock and briefly cooked together--easy peasy, and delicious, albeit a bit sweeter than when I make it from scratch. A friend of mine who lived in Mexico City for many years told me that middle class cooks in Mexico all use mole paste, due to how labor intensive it is to make from scratch and their lack of household servants. The shortcut recipe you posted, lacking plantain, burned tortilla, sesame seeds, broth, likely wouldn't compare well with a mole negro made with reconstituted, high-quality Oaxacan mole paste. A possibly interesting postscript related to the Olmec culture: when I was a clinical social worker in an orthopedic rehab in Upper NW DC, I encountered an elderly woman with a fascinating past. Her first husband had been Matthew Sterling, the anthropologist who was supposedly the model for Harrison Ford's character in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Sterling was the one who first re-discovered the Olmec heads, and she had gone with him on two or three different expeditions to the jungle, that were sponsored by The National Geographic Society. They brought along photographers and filmmakers to document the excavations, and when I expressed interest in learning more, she showed me old copies of National Geographic Magazine, with articles they had written, including photographs. She was posed, sitting on top of one or two of the heads to demonstrate scale. What a life!
Many thanks for yr comment, Zora - the whole subject of when and where and how the idea of mole came to be is fascinating. And I quite agree that as a preparation the idea of a pounded sauce prepared with dried chillis well predates the nuns' story. All those Old World ingredients, for a start, in the modern version. And chilli flakes are still offered as an alternative to sugar at the chopped-fruit stalls in DF. Which prompted me to look up Diana Kennedy (she was a friend my mother's in Mexico) to see if she gives mole recipes in 'Oaxaca al Gusto': she has loads, often listed as a sub-heading, as you might when separating main ingredients from an accompanying salsa. Mole zapoteco, for instance - a wedding dish, so luxurious - is a turkey or chicken stew for which the jointed bord is cooked in the mole (ingredients guajillo:ancho 2:1, garlic, allspice, cloves, cumin, Mexican marjoram, thyme and breadcrumbs.
Peanut butter in mole sounds...intriguing
Thank you so much for this entry. My maternal abuelos immigrated separately from Aguascalientes to El Paso, Texas in the late 1910s. My grandmother and aunt always made turkey mole for family celebrations and it remains one of my favorites. Shortcuts for them included a kickstarter with an 8 oz. jar of Doña María mole sauce. I also recall them adding slices of white bread to thicken. But, as a 6–8 year old, I cannot recall not much else in terms of their recipe, but can still taste its wonderfully complex flavor and texture. For holidays, three turkeys were cooked with the third reserved for the mole.