How to Make Maricel Presilla's Favorite Mole Colordarito
Editor’s note: We recently shared details about the history and making of mole, today we also share a recipe, courtesy of Maricel Presilla.
“I thought long and hard about what mole recipes to include in a book about capsicum peppers. There are so many, and all so fascinating in their own right. But in the end I decided to choose only this one, the beautiful mole coloradito --- literally, “the little red one.”
The beauty of this mole is that you can plan ahead and pace your work instead of trying to cram everything in on one day. Oaxacan cooks will approach the making of coloradito with the goal of obtaining a dense, cooked-down paste that can be kept in the refrigerator and deployed at special moments. For me, it can be like money in the bank – something to take with me as the wherewithal of a great dish when I have to cook outside of the comfort of my own kitchen. A properly made coloradito delivers a mixture of well-modulated pungency and acidity, deep fruitiness without cloying sweetness, spices that play against each other but surrender their individual personality to the symphony of the pot, chocolate as a deep backbone of flavor rather than a distraction, satisfying body lent by bread and nuts that also mellow sharp edges of flavor – and last but not least, chiles that provide beautiful color with medium heat. To this day, it is the mole that has given me the greatest joy.”
"Mole Coloradito" by geminder is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Makes 2 cups concentrated mole paste; 6 cups diluted mole
The Chiles
14 chiles guajillo (about 3 oz/85 g)
6 chiles chilcostles (about 1 ½ oz/44 g)
3 chiles anchos (1 7/8 oz/55 g)
The Thickeners
1 slice bread from a French or Italian baguette (about 1 oz/29 g)
¼ cup blanched almonds (1 ¼ oz/37 g)
The Spices
1 tsp allspice berries
1 tsp black peppercorns
3-inch Ceylon cinnamon stick (canela)
1/8 tsp cloves
2 tsp sesame seeds
The Seasoning Vegetables
2 small round ripe tomatoes (about10 oz/288 g), cut in half crosswise
1 medium white onion (about 8 oz/) , cut in half lengthwise
4 garlic cloves
The Fruits
½ cup seedless black raisins (2 ½ oz/71 g)
1 6 ¾ oz/193 g ripe plantain (yellow with black spots and soft to the touch)
The Fat
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil (preferably green fruity oil from Arbequina olives)
To Finish
2 oz dark chocolate (preferably made from Latin American cacao no less than 60 % cacao content), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon sea salt
Preparing the chiles: Prepare the dried chiles according to the directions on page 000. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or griddle or a comal over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the chiles and roast briefly, tossing with tongs, for about 30 seconds; remove and place in a large bowl. Cover with warm water and let soak for about 20 minutes or until soft. Alternatively, bring to a boil with 1 qt/960 ml water in a medium saucepan for 20 minutes or until soft. Drain and reserve 1 cup of liquid. Working in batches if necessary, place the softened peppers in the blender and process into a thick paste adding about ¼ cup or more of the reserved liquid if necessary to loosen it up. Scoop out into a bowl and reserve. Rinse and dry the blender jar for another batch of grinding.
Preparing the thickeners: Add the bread to the hot pan and toast until golden on both sides; remove, crumble between your fingers and set aside. Add the blanched almonds and toast until golden; remove and place in a small bowl.
Preparing the spices: Reduce the heat to medium and add the allspice, peppercorns, cinnamon, and cloves. Toast briefly, about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and place in the bowl with the almonds. Chop the cinnamon into 1-in/2.5-cm sections for easier grinding; remove and place in the bowl. Add the sesame seeds and toast until golden, about 20 seconds; scrape out and place in the bowl.
Combine the almonds with the spices and grind in batches in an electric spice or coffee mill. If you have a powerful food processor like a Kitchen Aid Pro, you can grind all ingredients to a powder by pulsing until the mixture is well ground. Do not overprocess. Bring back to the bowl.
Preparing the seasoning vegetables: Wipe the pan clean with a damp clean kitchen towel and increase heat to medium-high. Add the onion and tomatoes to the pan, cut side up, and toast until charred. With tongs turn the vegetables cut side down and roast for about 10 minutes until charred on all sides. Peel away the charred bits and chop the vegetables coarsely. Place in the blender or food processor with the garlic and ground spice blend.
Preparing the fruits: Place the raisins in the blender. With a sharp paring knife, slice off both ends of the ripe plantain. Make a lengthwise shallow cut along with one of the plantain ridges and peel. Cut at an angle into ½ inch slices and set aside.
Preparing the mole paste: Heat the oil in an 11-in by 4-inch heavy-bottomed pot until rippling. Add the plantain rounds and fry on both sides until golden brown. With tongs transfer to the blender with the crumbled-up bread. Process into a thick but smooth paste and add at least ¼ cup reserved liquid if necessary to facilitate grinding.
Increase the heat to medium-high. Stir in the chile puree, averting your face because the sauce will spatter up. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, or until the oil begins to separate from the solids. Stir in the vegetable and fruit puree and let simmer, stirring for another 20 minutes until the fat separates from the solids again and you can see the bottom of the pot as you stir the sauce with a spoon.
The finishing touches: Add the chocolate and stir to melt. Stir in the salt and blend thoroughly.
Place a sieve over a large measuring cup or bowl and strain the mole paste pushing with a study pestle and scraping the paste that adheres to the bottom of the sieve with a spatula.
Storing the mole paste: If not diluting into a mole sauce immediately, let cool and store in glass or stainless steel storage containers. Pour in a thin layer of oil over the paste to help preserve it. Seal and keep refrigerated until ready to use. It will keep well in the refrigerator for about 6 months.
When cooking at home for a small event or for the family, Mexican cooks might buy mole paste from a market, where they are usually displayed in big colorful mounds, or resort to mole paste like this one that they have made previously. I am known to have at least a couple of mole pastes in my refrigerator, a chile mulato of my creation, and the Coloradito. I used them for much more than a large pot of mole. Dissolved in some broth, about 2 cups per cup of mole paste, the mole becomes a wonderful sauce to make enchiladas. Just dip fresh tortillas in the sauce and fill them with some cheese and beans. I also like to serve mole as a sauce for braised short ribs, pan-fried duck breasts, and roast pork. Rather than dousing the meat with the sauce I like to serve the meat on top of the sauce. But the more splendid way to serve the mole is as a braise or stew, in all its baroque glory.
Reprinted by permission from Peppers of the Americas: The Remarkable Capsicums that Forever Changed Flavor (Lorena Jones Books/Ten Speed Press, 2017)
Best Reference Book 2018, IACP