Mole Manchamanteles Conventual

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Volcanic stone metate with tejolote, or a high-powered blender if the household demands it
• •Dry comal for toasting chiles and seeds
• •Wide barro rojo cazuela or heavy enameled Dutch oven
• •Medium-mesh sieve
• •Long wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the chiles

   Open the ancho, guajillo, and pasilla chiles with kitchen scissors. Remove stems, seeds, and veins, then wipe the skins with a barely damp cloth. Do not rinse them under running water. You are cleaning dust, not washing laundry.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chiles one at a time, about 20 to 30 seconds per side for ancho and guajillo, less for pasilla. The skins should puff and smell deep, red, and sweet. They should not blacken. Burned chile gives bitterness, and bitterness will follow you through the whole cazuela.

   The ancho carries the body of this mole. Choose chiles that bend a little and smell like dried fruit, not brittle chiles that crack like old paper.
3. 3

   Soak the chiles

   Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water. Hot, not boiling. Let them soften for 25 minutes, then drain. Taste a spoonful of the soaking water. If it tastes bitter, throw it away. If it tastes clean and chile-sweet, save a little for adjusting the paste.

4. 4

   Fry the fruit

   Melt 3 tablespoons of the lard in a wide barro rojo cazuela or heavy pot over medium heat. Fry the plantain coins until browned on both sides, then remove them to a bowl. Fry the pineapple, apple, and pear in the same fat until their edges take color and the fruit smells concentrated, about 8 minutes. Remove them with the plantain. This browning matters. Raw fruit makes a thin, childish sauce.

5. 5

   Toast the seeds

   Add the almonds to the cazuela and fry until pale gold. Add the 1/4 cup sesame seeds and stir until they turn golden and smell nutty. Add the raisins for the last minute so they puff but do not burn. Remove everything to the bowl with the fruit.

6. 6

   Brown the bread

   Add another tablespoon of lard if the cazuela looks dry. Fry the tortilla pieces and bolillo until browned and crisp at the edges. They will thicken the mole and give it the conventual body that clings to a spoon. Remove them to the same bowl.

7. 7

   Cook the aromatics

   Add the onion and garlic to the cazuela. Cook until the onion softens and the garlic spots brown, about 6 minutes. Add the canela, cloves, peppercorns, anise seed, thyme, and Mexican oregano for the last 30 seconds. The spices should wake up in the fat. If they scorch, start them again. No spice should bully this mole.

8. 8

   Grind the paste

   Work the soaked chiles, fried fruit, nuts, seeds, raisins, bread, aromatics, spices, and 1 cup warm broth into a smooth paste on a metate. If you are using a blender, blend in batches and let each batch run longer than you think. You want a paste, not a chunky sauce. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve, pressing hard on the solids. El metate es la regla, but a disciplined blender can serve the household.

9. 9

   Fry the mole

   Melt the remaining lard in the cleaned cazuela over medium heat. Add the strained paste carefully. It will sputter, so use a long spoon and stand like someone who has cooked before. Fry for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens to brick red and the lard begins to separate at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This is where the mole becomes serious.

10. 10

    Simmer slowly

    Add the remaining warm broth a little at a time, stirring until the sauce loosens into a thick, glossy mole. Add the jerez, piloncillo, vinegar, and salt. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring often so the fruit sugars do not catch on the bottom. The finished mole should coat the back of a spoon and fall in a slow ribbon.

11. 11

    Rest and finish

    Taste for salt, sweetness, and acid. The chile should lead, the fruit should round it, and the jerez should sit quietly in the back. Toast the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame seeds until golden. Serve the mole as a sauce in a deep talavera or barro cazuela, with sesame scattered over the surface. The chicken, turkey, or pork it dresses belongs to another recipe. This is the mother sauce. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy ancho chiles from a vendor who lets you smell them. At La Merced, the good ancho smells like raisin, tobacco, and red fruit. If it smells dusty or sour, leave it there. You can have perfect technique and bad chiles and you'll get a bad mole.
• •If you find Oaxacan chilhuacle rojo, use 2 in place of 2 ancho for a deeper regional Oaxacan note. That is a beautiful compromise. Do not pretend it is the standard Puebla version. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
• •Fresh pineapple matters. Canned pineapple brings syrup and tin. If the pineapple in the market is pale and hard, wait or use more plantain and apple. Mexican grandmothers cook with what the mercado is selling today.
• •Jerez belongs here because this is conventual cooking, not a street salsa. Use a dry sherry. Sweet cooking wine from the supermarket will make the mole taste cheap.
• •This mole improves overnight. Make it one day before the celebration if you can. The fruit, chile, spice, and lard settle into one another after a night in the refrigerator.

Advance Preparation

• •The chiles can be stemmed, seeded, and wiped clean one day ahead. Keep them covered at room temperature, away from moisture.
• •The complete mole can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat slowly in a cazuela with splashes of warm broth, stirring until glossy again.
• •For a two-day conventual rhythm, toast and grind everything on day one, then fry and simmer the mole on day two. That is not inefficiency. That is how serious sauces are built.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)