Mole de Vaso (Cup Mole)

Like I've said in previous "Mole" (pronounced "mol- eh") posts. Mole can be considered a type of complex Mexican curry made with a combination of spices (cloves, cinnamon, pepper, etc.) dried chile's, nuts/ seeds, chocolate, and some unsuspected ingredients (bread, corn tortillas as a thickener, and stuff like plantains as a sweetener) however their are Mole's that use different ingredients and don't include chocolate (for example "Mole Verde"/ green mole, some versions of "Mole Almendrado"/ almond mole, etc.) but the commonly and well known one's do.

In the USA and even in Mexico when people think of Mole they will think of the one I described, and the Mole that comes to mind is the popular "Mole Poblano" which is a dark to redish brown color. HOWEVER almost no one makes it from scratch in general because it is very labour intensive, the long list of ingredients, and amount of time it consumes (yes it can take 5 hours sometimes longer maybe all day) if prepared from scratch.

The solution, well in Mexico a lot of people buy pre-made concentrated wet pastes which have all the ingredients and spices ground up to a thick paste, taking out a lot of the hard work, all the chilies, spices, and most everything already in the paste. Same goes for here in the USA, a popular brand of Mole paste is "Dona Maria" it is what most people here use, or imported mole pastes from Mexico or fresh one's made here are sometimes available.

So today I want to show people how to prepare the short-cut version of Mole using the Mole paste for the typical mole "Poblano" I do have the scratch version on my blog, but I know many probably won't make it so I want to share the convenient one :) and I personally only make Mole from scratch once a year and it's easy to mess up, when it's from scratch if you over toast or fry the chilies it may turn to bitter or burnt (it happened to me last year because i wasn't watching the time and heat) From my mother's side I am known for my "Mole Negro Oaxaceno" I will prepare it sometime this year (I usually make it around November and December) so stay tuned :)

So without further chit chat I present to you my "Abuelita Leonor's" recipe for short cut Mole which is amazingly delicious give it a try, :) (Abuelita Leonor is my grandmother from my mother's side and is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico) my grandmother calls the short cut version "Mole de Vaso"

Ingredients for boiling meat:
-5- 6 lbs of chicken or turkey (1 chicken and about 2 lbs of drumsticks or thigh and leg meat if using turkey, you can use a whole one, or buy legs & wings, etc)
-1/2 medium onion
-2-3 cloves garlic whole
-2 bay leaves
-1 tsp. ground cumin (optional)
-salt to taste
-1 teaspoonful chicken bouillon
-water (about 9 cups? 2 liters just enough to submerge you chicken or turkey)

Ingredients for the rest of the dish :)
-1 container 8. 5 oz. of "Dona Maria Mole"
-chicken or turkey stock (from boiling the meat reserved as needed)
-1 onion minced
-1 can 8 oz/ 1 cup of tomato sauce
-1/2 cup of tomato ketchup
-1/4 cup of oil or lard (any oil will do in Mexican cooking usually lard is used or corn oil)
-1 whole tablet of Mexican Chocolate (popular one's are "Chocolate Abuelita" and "Ibarra")

Optional Ingredients (depends on how sweet you like it like how much chocolate taste you like or sweetness keep in mind the sauce will get sweet and stronger in taste as it cools and time goes by, the next day it will be stronger):
-1/2 tablet of Mexican Chocolate (in addition to the chocolate you already used)
-sugar to taste (add it in tablespoon increments, this is also optional)

Directions for boiling meat and making stock:
(1) Wash chicken or turkey really well, in my house we like to wash it once with water, drain, then wash it again in the sink sumberging it, adding a couple palmfulls of salt and rubbing it well, along with some cut limes nad their juice to get rid of any bad odor and taste, we then rinse once more and drain, then pat-dry. Cut your meat into sections.

(2) Bring water to a boil, add your chicken or turkey and the onion, garlic, bay leaves, bouillon powder, and salt to taste, cover and boil on medium low 35 minutes if using chicken and 2-3 hours if using turkey.

(3) When meat is tender and cooked it should look like this, take out the meat, set it aside, and strain the broth/ stock. Reserve and set aside.

Directions for forming the sauce:
(1) Open your mole paste container, add it to the blender, and blend it with enough chicken stock to liquify it. Set aside.

(2) Heat a large deep-pot on medium high, add oil or lard, when hot add onions and sautee until translucent and golden about 5-7 minutes,
add in tomato ketchup, give a good stir,
when it bubbles add tomato sauce,
when it bubbles again add in the blended mole paste that you liquified with chicken stock
(3) Bring it to a rolling boil, then lower heat to medium so the botttom doesn't stick, add your chocolate, and stir occasionally so it doesn't stick until chocolate melts, as your sauce boils you will notice that it starts to thicken up, add more reserved chicken stock a little at a time in about 1/2 cup increments, until it is as thick or thin as you like it, the thickness is to your personal preference in my house we like it the consistency of gravy, like just thick enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. After it's as thick as you'd like taste to adjust salt, and see if you wanna add the other 1/2 tablet of chocolate and if you desire additional sugar to taste. However my mother doesn't like it on the sweet side so we left it as is at this point.
(4) After it boils 10 minutes, add your chicken and boil an additional 5 minutes. Turn off heat and you can serve with "Arroz Mexicano Rojo" (Mexican red rice) and warm tortillas if you'd like "Frijoles de la Olla" (pinto beans boiled with garlic and onion) goes well with this too.
Now my post isn't over for those of you interested in the from scratch version of this dish check out my post for "Mole Poblano" and if interested in other types of Mole's I also have the recipe for my version of "Mole Almendrado" (almond based mole) and "Mole Verde" (green mole)

PLEASE NOTE:
-You may or may not have leftover sauce after eating all the meat with the delicious Mole sauce, if you have leftover sauce, it's great in the morning with some eggs, you can make some sunny side up eggs, serve it over rice, then pour mole sauce mmmmm... or add it to a bowl of boiled pinto beans and enjoy with warm tortillas, even scrample some eggs, throw hot mole sauce over it and enjoy with tortillas as well, just whatever you so don't throw away any leftover Mole sauce :)

If your truely in a hurry as well there is a pork version that is faster, get pork spare ribs or pork shoulder meat, cut into chunks about 1 or 2 inch chunks, brown in lard or oil, add minced onion when translucent add ketchup, then tomato, and dilute the mole paste with water or store-bought chicken or beef stock/ broth, add it to the pork, bring to a boil, add more water or chicken or beef stock to thin out the sauce while it boils to your liking, along with the chocolate taste for salt. If you used water you'll have to add 1 beef bouillon cube or 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon cube then salt to taste. Simmer until everything is tender. (I will do a detailed post for this in the future for those that might be interested :)

Estofado de Puerco Con Chocolate (Spanish Pork Stew with Chocolate)

Growing up the only meat dishes I had that had chocolate in them was the Mexican "Mole Poblano" and other dark colored "Mole" sauces my mother would prepare (whom is Mexican) which are like a type of Mexican curry (it has an array of spices, dried chiles, and includes chocolate as well, sounds odd but is a must try)

Anyways, I also grew up on Spanish and Cuban food prepared by my grandmother and honestly never had choclate in any of those dishes, but I did notice in many of the Spanish blogs I read that braised meat dishes cooked in wine, etc. sometimes included chocolate or atleast some cooks liked to do this. I thought it was very odd, but was familiar with the idea because of my mother. I always wanted to try it and during my summer break was finally able to. I originally learned this recipe from Maria's blog "Las Hambres" (the Hungers) but adjusted it to suit the ingredients more readily available to me and in my pantry as well as my families tastes. Her version is made with wild pork, and dark chocolate, etc. here is my variation :)

Ingredients:
-1 giant onion or 2 medium ones or 3-4 small ones thickly chopped
-2-3 lbs pork shoulder meat or pork spare ribs
-1 head of garlic cloves (cloves seperated but left whole)
-4 small or 2 large bay leaves
-1 teaspoonful of black peppercorns
-3 cups water
-1/4 cup vinegar
-1 cup dry white wine
-salt to taste (use about 2 tsp.)
-1/2 tablet of "Mexican Chocolate" (like Abuelita or Ibarra brand)

Directions:
(1) Get a large deep pot or pan and add the onions in one layer
(2) Add the pork meat in an even layer over the onions, season liberally with salt. Now add the garlic, black peppercorns and bay leaves in one layer
(3 ) Pour your vinegar, wine, water and olive oil. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat, cover and simmer for about 3 hours until meat is extremely tender.
(5) When meat is tender after about 3 hours. At this point add your chocolate pieces and allow to melt into the dish,
shake the pan while cooking but in a circular motion gently to make everything incorporate (just make the sauce gently swoosh and shake to emulsify sorta).
(6) Turn off heat and serve, you can enjoy it with a simple salad and some good crusty bread. Or like most things I eat over a bed of fluffy white rice enjoy!
PLEASE NOTE:
The amount of chocolate you use is to your taste, the original recipe uses 1 square of dark chocolate, I prefer Mexican chocolate such as "Chocolate Abuelita" I just like the taste, you can honestly use whatever chocolate you prefer for this, and as much as you want to your taste, just don't it over power the dish.... although honestly I used 1 whole tablet cut in 6 which is about 4 squares... it was real rich and delicious but I tasted the dish as I added, I suggest using only 1/2 a tablet. My father felt like I added to much, however my mother, little sister, and myself loved it with a whole tablet. I suggest adding 1 square at a time, like add a square or piece and let it melt into the sauce, taste it, if your satisfied don't add more, if your not then keep adding until you feel the chocolate taste or hint is just right for your preference :)

Soooo a little update about my life (you may skip):
I just started school again (yes I know early) for me it started on August 23rd, and this year seems like it's more book heavy for me than the other's and am taking a little bit more challenging courses. So I'm finding myself a little over loaded and it's barely the first week. So I may be absent from my blog for a long time, or just post less frequently or very irregularly/ at random.

I just felt like posting a recipe for my first week of school in case I don't in a very long time :)

I also wanted to share this recipe because for me it's a great dish to cook when going to school because if I'm home, this dish is pretty much just throwing everything in the pot, covering and forgetting about for 3 hours, and you can steam rice in the rice cooker while it cooks. So in between you can just leave and study in the comfort of your home and have this wonderful meal cooking for you, honestly during school I still cook, I just don't have time to blog about it always. I usually cook stuff I can throw together and leave alone while I study, or put together very quick sauteed or pan-fried dishes I can eat with rice or alone :) Honestly even if I go to school I usually never rely on fast food and quick junk snacks, I almost always take prepared meals, and if I can't cook my mother does (I live relatively close to campus) and am lucky enough to know my way in the kitchen and cook a variety because when I can't spend hours in the kitchen, I can whip up more simple stuff that can be just as satisfying as those labour intensive dishes in a short amount of time. (recently this week I've been eating a lot of mixed vegetable, meat, and rice or noodle dishes) the time consuming part is blogging which however I love :D

Potaje de Frijol de Carita Con Calabaza y Col (Black Eyed Peas Stewed w/ Vegetables)

This a very simple vegetarian/ vegan friendly black eyed pea stew. I make this when I want something really filling and satisfying but somehow not harsh on the stomach if you know what I mean, like when I want a bean stew that's real hardy and can stand alone as a dish but without all the pork and sausage (which I have nothing against, honestly if you'd like you can boil some Spanish chorizo together with the beans then slice it and add it back to the pot)

For those that want a super filling, heavy, hardy black eyed pea stew with lots of yummy pork products and meat check out my post for "Potaje de Frijol de Carita"

Ingredients:
-1 lbs. black eyed peas (soaked over night, drained)
-water (enough to submerge black eyed peas 1 1/2 inches)
-1/4- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1 onion finely chopped
-3 cloves garlic minced
-1 large tomato grated
-1 tablespoon sweet smoked spanish paprika (Pimenton Dulce de la Vera)
-1 lbs. calabaza cut into 1 inch cubes (carribean, banana, butternut, Hubbard, or kabucha squash work well)
-1/2 small head of savoy, nappa, or regular green cabbage, thinly sliced into small strips (this dish is best with savoy cabbage but I only had regular green cabbage on hand)
-salt to taste

Directions:
(1) Drain black eyed peas that have been soaked over night. Cover with fresh water about 1 1/2 inches, bring to a boil on high and cover to simmer until tender about 40 minutes is what it took for me.
(2) Meanwhile, heat a medium frying pan with olive oil on medium high heat, when oil is hot add onions and sautee until onions are translucent about 5-7 minutes, add garlic and sautee an additional 3 minutes until fragrant, add grated tomato and cook down 5-7 more minutes until tomato looses all it's moisture, quickly add 1 tablespoon of sweet smoked spanish paprika stir 1 minute until fragrant and remove from heat set aside.
While you were preparing the spanish "sofrito" you can prep all your vegetables, here's a picture of everything ready to just add to the pot
(3) When black eyed peas are tender, add the "sofrito" (sauteed contents), and the calabaza. Let boil about 15 minutes until squash is tender,
then add shredded cabbage and cook an additional 5 minutes.
(4) Turn off heat and enjoy :) you can serve it as a vegetable soup with any meal (though it's heavy) or eat it on it's own with rice or bread for a light lunch if you'd like a nice raw salad of tomato, cucumber, maybe avocado served over watercress or any lettuce dressed with olive oil, lime, and salt.
PLEASE NOTE:
I was inspired to make this when I saw a post in another Spanish blog called "Amarillo Azafran" her post for "Alubias Carillas Con Verdura" (black eyed peas with vegetables) I thought it was a great idea, and I was already familiar with marrying cabbage with calabaza in bean stews (my grandmother/ Tata would always do this for her signature dish "Potaje de Garbanzos" a.k.a. Garbanzo Stew)