A Splash of Magic

Photo: Marissa E. Sanchez

“A Splash of Magic”
In France, a sauce is just an entrée’s sidekick. But a rich, complex sauce is the very heart of the Mexican meal.
By Zarela Martinez
Special to the Times

Los Angeles Times- Wednesday, March 4th, 1998

When I was pregnant with my twin boys, the only thing that brought on morning sickness was the smell of roasting chiles. Unfortunately, all I felt like eating were fresh corn tortillas with searingly hot chile sauce. A tortilla was often my whole meal.
My housekeeper at the time constantly warned me that my babies would be born with chilcual, a rash that results when a mother overindulges in hot chiles. I want to say that the boys weren’t born with any chilcual, though they do have an extraordinary taste for all things spicy. Just like their mother.
I didn’t know that my taste for tortillas followed an ancient pre-Columbian tradition. In the homes of the Aztec lords, as Sophie Coe reports in “America’s First Cuisines,” a meal usually started with tortillas and tamales paired with a sauce.
The tortilla and sauce dishes had to be brought on the palm of the hand, not held by the rim. Ancient reports do not say how the lords ate the combination, but in less elegant circles, the method was apparently to take a tortilla in the left hand and spoon sauce into it with another tortilla held in the right.
Sauces are still the heart of the Mexican meal. A festive French meal centers on meat (or poultry or fish) cooked in any of several distinctive ways with a sauce that complements it elegantly. In Mexico, it’s the other way around.
In many dishes, the meat, which is cooked very simply, is actually just an understated counterpoint to the fascinating textures and flavors of the sauce, which is the true star. The sauces range from almost purely pre-Columbian purees based on fresh herbs to rococo mixtures of Old and New World ingredients.
The Spaniards found the indigenous peoples of Mexico making complex pureed sauces called molli, which became mole in Spanish. Ever since, moles are especially associated with central and southern Mexico. The most famous is mole poblano, from Puebla, but Oaxaca is acknowledged to be the capital of mole-making, the place where it has been raised to its highest glory.
There is no iron-clad rule about which ingredients to use, but many moles and similar sauces contain tomatoes or tomatillos, onions, garlic, herbs or spices, a variety of fresh or dried chiles and something to thicken the sauce. The thickener may be bread, corn masa or crumbled tortillas, but more often it’s ground seeds or nuts.
And often, the thickener is the main ingredient of the sauce. Pipianes are always thickened with some sort of seed, such as pumpkin or sesame seeds, or corn kernels. Almendrado is thickened with almonds, encacahuetado with peanuts and alcaparrado with capers.
A wide range of herbs and spices is used. The Oaxacan version of mole verde uses the native Mexican herbs hoja santa (Piper sanctum) and epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides), along with Italian parsley and fresh, rather than dried, chiles. In some moles, the flavorings are as simple as a little black pepper and cloves; others, such as manchamanteles, feature extravagant combinations of tomatoes, chiles, herbs, spices and fresh or dried fruit.
Main-course sauces are not difficult to make, but they do require good logistics and a few basic pieces of equipment. Many of the ingredients need special preparation before being ground or pureed together. Nuts and seeds are usually fried or toasted. Dried chiles are toasted to bring out their aroma. I also like to toast some spices be grinding them in a coffee or spice grinder.
A good griddle (comal) or cast-iron skillet is essential, not only for toasting seeds and chiles but also for slow-roasting fresh chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, onions and garlic. This step gives many sauces an elusive, characteristic smoky flavor. (Don’t use a griddle with a non-stick coating such as Teflon, by the way—extended heat will make the coating come off.)
More labor-intensive is the grinding of the seeds, nuts and chiles. In Mexico, home cooks can buy mole pastes ready-made in the market and simply add “wet” ingredients such as tomatoes and onions, or they can assemble the dry ingredients and take them to the neighborhood mill (molino) for grinding. Very few people grind in the ancient molcajete (volcanic stone mortar) when you can get a heavy-duty electric blender or food processor.
In my kitchen, I grind the nuts or seeds in a food processor (they tend to clog a blender) and puree the wet ingredients in a blender, and then strain everything through a medium-mesh sieve to achieve the velvety texture I want. The pureed and strained sauce is then fried in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven in a little fat to seal and deepen the flavor.
The Spaniards brought the pig to Mexico and, ever since, the favorite cooking fat has been lard, which adds richness and silkiness to a sauce. Sadly, lard is so expensive that many people now use vegetable oil, which gives a very different effect.
However, Oaxacan cooks have a trick to make up for the loss and to add even more layers of flavor: They perfume the oil. They may do it by slowly cooking garlic or onions in the oil until they caramelize, adding a sweet note. Or they’ll mash the herbs and spices together and fry them in the oil until they sizzle. Then they add the pureed wet ingredients, stirring rapidly to avoid splattering. The sauce will be cooked until it thickens and all the flavors have melded deliciously together.
This thick, voluptuous puree can be spread on a tortilla as is, but usually it’s thinned to the desired consistency and combined with vegetables or meat. A few purees actually end up more like soups than sauces; for instance, the Veracruz-style red chile sauce with greens, beans and masa dumplings.
Once you transfer the finished dish to a serving bowl, I suggest that you do as I used to with my mother’s chile colorado. Unceremoniously scrape any thickened residue from the pot with your finger and lick it off, as if it was cake batter from a mixing bowl.

A Griddle Guide

To Griddle-Dried Chiles: Unless otherwise directed in a recipe, remove and discard the tops and seeds of the chiles. I leave in the veins (the hottest part), but you can cut them away if you want to tone down the heat. Rinse the chiles under cold running water and shake off the excess moisture, but do not dry them.
Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Place the chiles on the griddle a few at a time and let them heat, turning occasionally with tongs, just until any clinging moisture is evaporated and the aroma is released. Allow 30 to 45 seconds in all for most chiles (slightly less for guajillos, which are very thin-skinned).
The chiles should just become dry, hot and fragrant; do not allow them to start really roasting or they will have a terrible scorched flavor. Remove from the griddle as they are done. Most recipes will call for placing them in a deep bowl, covering generously with boiling water and letting stand for about 15 to 20 minutes, then draining well.
To Griddle-Roast Onions and Garlic: Heat a heavy ungreased griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Place the unpeeled onion and individual unpeeled garlic cloves on the griddle. Cook, turning frequently, until somewhat softened, 15 to 20 minutes for small onions, 20 to 25 minutes for medium-size onions and 8 minutes for garlic cloves. I usually cut large onions in half crosswise (leaving the skin on) and roast, turning frequently, for about 20 minutes. The cut side will char, but the black bits are easily scrapped off. Remove the onions or garlic cloves from the griddle; when cool enough to handle, peel them over a bowl to catch the pieces.
To Griddle-Roast Tomatoes: Heat the griddle or skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Place the tomatoes on the griddle stem side down. (Started this way, they lose less juice.)
Cook, turning frequently, until the skin is blackened and blistered all over, 10 to 15 minutes for small to medium tomatoes and 15 to 20 minutes for larger ones. Remove from the griddle to a bowl that will hold the juices. When they are cool enough to handle, peel off the charred skin. If some tiny blackened bits remain, they will just add to the flavor. Be sure to save all the delicious juices and add them to the dish.
-Zarela Martinez

Mole Verde

Fresh herbs are what distinguish a mole verde. In other parts of Mexico, I’ve had green moles with various greens, even lettuce leaves. The Oaxacan mole verde uses just three: epazote, hoja santa and parsley. If you can’t get the first two, you’ll have to improvise with what’s available, but the results will not be as good. Dried epazote and hoja santa are better than none at all, though the fresh herbs are incomparable. Mole verde is delicious with chicken, pork or griddled fish.

•    8 whole cloves or ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
•    1 teaspoon cumin seeds
•    3 jalapenos
•    6 large tomatillos, husks removed
•    1 small onion, cut into chunks
•    2 sprigs fresh thyme
•    2 sprigs fresh marjoram
•    5 cloves garlic
•    ½ teaspoon salt
•    6 cups strained chicken or pork stock
•    1 cup (1/2 pound) fresh masa or 6 tablespoons masa harina mixed to smooth paste with 1 cup water
•    1 bunch Italian parsley
•    8 (6-inch) sprigs fresh epazote or ¼ cup dried, crumbled
•    3 large or 5 medium-size fresh hoja santa leaves or 5 dried leaves
•    2 cups cooked Great Northern or other white beans, optional
•    Stewed Pork or cooked chicken, optional

1.     Grind cloves and cumin together in electric coffee or spice grinder or with mortar and pestle. Place ground spices in blender container with jalapenos, tomatillos, onion, thyme, marjoram, garlic, salt and ½ cup stock. Process until smoothly pureed, about 2 minutes on high.
2.    Bring remaining stock to boil in pan, then reduce to gentle simmer. Add pureed mixture to hot stock and cook, uncovered, about 3 minutes.
3.    Add masa to stock mixture, whisking constantly. Let sauce return to simmer. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. If lumps form, pass mixture through medium-mesh sieve, pushing with spoon to force lumpy bits through and return to heat. Mixture should thicken to consistency of whipping cream; if necessary, increase heat slightly to reduce and thicken it.
4.    Place parsley, epazote and hoja santa in blender or food processor. If using blender, add few tablespoons water to facilitate blending. Process to smooth puree.
5.    Add cooked beans to masa-thickened sauce and let return to simmer. Add pureed herbs. If using Stewed Pork or chicken pieces, add at this time and cook until just heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Stewed Pork

•    1 (3 pound) pork butt
•    1 onion, halved
•    4 cloves garlic
•    4 to 5 peppercorns
•    Water

1.    Bring pork butt, onion, garlic, peppercorns and water to cover to boil in large pot. Lower heat to simmer and cook until meat is falling-apart tender, 3 ½ to 4 hours.
2.    Remove meat and let cool slightly. Reserve juices. When cool enough to handle, shred meat.

Encacahuetado
(Smoky Peanut Mole)

Though I would call this an encacahuetado, Rick Bayles, who gave me this recipe, calls it a peanut mole and serves it with grilled quail. It also goes well with everything from chicken and duck to pork, swordfish and grouper.

•    2 (about 1 ounce total) dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
•    2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
•    ½ small white onion, sliced
•    2 cloves garlic, peeled
•    ½ pound (about 1 medium to large round or 3 to 4 plum) tomatoes
•    1 cup dry roasted peanuts, plus few extra tablespoons chopped for garnish
•    2 slices firm white bread, torn into pieces
•    2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, seeded
•    1/8 teaspoon allspice, preferred freshly ground
•    ½ teaspoon freshly ground Mexican cinnamon (canela) or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
•    3 ½ to 4 cups chicken broth
•    ½ cup fruity red wine
•    1 tablespoon cider vinegar
•    2 bay leaves
•    Salt
•    Sugar

1.     Tear ancho chiles into flat pieces, then toast few pieces at a time on ungreased griddle or skillet over medium heat. Press chiles flat with spatula every few seconds until they crackle and change color slightly, then flip and press again. (If they give off more than a wisp of smoke, they are burning and will add bitter flavor to sauce.)
2.    Cover roasted chile pieces with hot water in small bowl and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even soaking. Drain chiles and discard water.
3.    Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy, medium-size (4-quart) pot (preferably Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, then fry, stirring regularly, until well-browned, about 10 minutes. Scrape solids into blender container and set pan aside.
4.    Roast tomato on hot griddle until blackened and charred all over, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then peel over bowl to catch the juices.
5.    Add tomato, 1 cup peanuts, bread, chipotle chiles, drained ancho chiles, allspice and cinnamon to blender. Add ½  cups chicken broth and blend until smooth, stirring and scraping down sides of blender jar and adding little more liquid if needed to keep everything moving through blender blades. Press mixture through medium-mesh sieve into bowl.
6.    Heat 1 tablespoon remaining oil in reserved pot over medium-high heat until rippling. Add pureed sauce all at once and cook, covered, until thickened and darkened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 cups remaining broth, wine, vinegar and bay leaves, then simmer gently, partially covered, over medium-low heat about 45 minutes, stirring often. Sauce should be consistency of cream soup; add more broth, a bit at a time, if needed.
7.    Add 1 ½ teaspoon salt of to taste ( depending on saltiness of chicken broth). Add up to 1 tablespoon sugar if needed to cut any bitterness from chiles that may have been over-roasted.