Mole Made Easy

Back in January, we had our first "Everyday Chocolatier" interview and our featured cook, Bridget, shared her mole recipe with us.  You can find that post HERE.  Yesterday in honor of Cinco de Mayo The Chocolate Priestess's family had mole at home for the first time.  I wasn't fully recovered from my recent surgery so we used a store bought "ready to serve" mole that I found in Kroger.

This is from Doña María and has three servings in a box though we only used half of it for us three.  You can make it two ways: microwave or stovetop with a teaspoon of added oil; I made it the second way so I could watch it and smell it as it cooked.  It wasn't difficult at all to make though frankly I would have appreciated a few more directions about what it should look like.  Mine was bought to a low boil then heated and stirred constantly for two minutes.  Then I let it set while I dished out diced potatoes and chicken breasts.  I only drizzled two spoonfuls onto that mixture directly and it turned out it added enough of a spicy kick to make it interesting without being overwhelming.  Since none of us have mole very often it was a good idea to start simple and small I believe.  I served it with simple toasted corncakes as well for a very easy dinner.

Purists will be appalled by the idea of mole in a box that you could heat in the microwave but I think this is a good basic introduction to something new for my family.  It has quite a bit of sodium in it but otherwise is decent nutrition-wise adding an extra 140 calories if you use it for three big servings.  The primary ingredients are water, chili peppers, and soybean oil with cocoa one of the last. Frankly I couldn't taste the cocoa but then if I had I probably would haven't been as pleased by the flavor.  I'm glad I thought of trying  it and it helped make our evening a bit unique compared to most Wednesday dinners.

Sisters and Brothers, may you, too, take the time to slowly appreciate what the Divine and human ingenuity have offered you in chocolate.

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