Let’s deconstruct a recipe. ¡A darle que es mole de olla! A popular saying of Mexican origin that variously translates to….. Mole de olla (1) is a traditional Mexican soup. It is made of xoconostle, squash, zucchini, green beans, corn, potato (or other vegetables), chambarete and aguja (cuts of meat), submerged into a broth of chile guajillo and chile pasilla seasoned with garlic, onion, and … Continue reading Mole de Olla
This Post combines two of my favourite things when it comes to Mesoamerican food science. Quelites and mole. Now by and large quelites are plants we would (in some parts anyway) consider to be weeds, both agricultural and urban, but these plants are some of the most nutritious and medicinal that nature has to offer us. We underestimate these plants at every turn. Mole is … Continue reading Quelites y Mole
Alrighty then whingers, it turns out there is a growing undercurrent of distaste for food blogs that expound unnecessarily. This does not bug me at all. I want the story. I want the history. I want some kind of cultural understanding of the dish (if this is relevant). The recipe is the climax. I want foreplay. I want the whole experience. My Recipe Posts however … Continue reading Recipe : Mole Colorado
City Farm is a not-for-profit community organisation that has been running an Urban Farm for over 25 years located only a few minutes from the centre of Perth. This unique urban sanctuary is a working urban farm that focuses on recycling, sustainability and community support. One service they offer is a small commercial kitchen and (larger) dining area. In this space has popped up an … Continue reading Product Review : Mole de Xico
In Australia we call them biscuits I have previously waxed lyrical on the subject of mole (1) and even queried the legitimacy of pre-made mole (2). One thing I have not done however is use mole in a sweet dish. I do make a chocolate, cherry and ancho chile biscotti which tends to be well received so it wasn’t a stretch to use mole instead. … Continue reading Recipe : Mole Cookies (1)
The drink horchata is another example of Moorish influences in the cuisines of México. The drink as it it was historically known dates back to ancient Rome where it was a medicinal drink made from barley. Etymologically this is where the word horchata was born; from the roman “hordeum” (barley) and “hordeata” (drink made from/with barley). As the drink travelled the world, borne aloft by … Continue reading Horchata
Typically when I think of a marinade I think of a liquid that something (usually meat) is immersed in so as to give it flavour or, in the case of tougher cuts of meat, to tenderise it. You marinate the meat by soaking it in the marinade. The word marinade hearks back to the use of salted water as a brining/pickling liquid (1). Generally anything … Continue reading Marinades : Recado Rojo
The author is not receiving (nor has sought) any financial benefit or support from any of the products or companies mentioned in this Post. This was my first exposure to mole in Australia. I found it in (of all places) a Filipino grocery store. Historically speaking this is not so unusual I guess as it was the Manila galleons that opened up trade between Asia … Continue reading Pre-made Mole. Blessing or Curse? Homage or Travesty?
Featured Image courtesy of Luis Cordova 2010 Often referred to as the “Mexican sauce with chocolate in it” this dish is poorly understood outside of Mexico. Even referring to mole simply as a sauce is somewhat a misnomer as it is so much more than that. A mole is no less than a culinary work of art. Each ingredient is individually cooked and prepared according … Continue reading What is Mole?
Masa Americana 