"Mole" means sauce - mole pork recipe - Brief Article

Sunset, Feb, 2000 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

Out of the Aztec empire to modern-day Las Vegas

The pages of my favorite reference for Mexican foods, The Mexican Cook Book for American Homes, are yellowed with age and stained with use. Josefina Velazquez de Leon, former director of the Culinary Arts Institute in Mexico City, wrote it more than 40 years ago. In it she says, "Among our oldest and most famous dishes of genuine Mexican origin is mole de guajolote, known in the days of the Aztec empire before the Conquest. The word mole is derived from molli or mulli, which meant sauce."

Guajolote-turkey--is only one partner for the sauce. It also associates with many meats and takes innumerable forms--classic and otherwise--with ingredient lists long or short. Some moles begin as thick pastes (in different colors) of blended chilies, masa, and spices. And some moles are even canned. The "secret" recipe for the highly reputed mole in one household I visited in Mexico City long ago actually started with a jar of Dona Maria mole poblano--in which chocolate is a constituent.

In Las Vegas recently, I came across another mole, almost as simple as the Mexico City one, as I sought refuge from the swarming Strip. It was my second visit to this famous city. I'd come to celebrate the midcentury birthday of a dear friend, Wolfgang Puck. (He was an infant the last time I'd been to Vegas. But since he has become a regular in town, getting a good meal isn't the gamble it once was.) This richly flavored pork stew, which I enjoyed for lunch before the party, was created by Chef Saul Garcia at Z' Tejas Grill; it was in itself a reason to celebrate.

Mole Pork

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 3 3/4 hours

NOTES: If making up to 1 day ahead, chill meat with sauce airtight. To reheat, stir often over medium heat until steaming. Serve with hot cooked rice or black beans. Add sour cream flavored to taste with more of the canned chipotle chili, minced or mashed. Garnish with slivered green onions (including tops) or fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedges.

MAKES: 8 to 10 servings

1 boned, tied pork shoulder or butt (about 4 lb.)

1 onion (1/2 lb.), peeled and chopped

1 firm-ripe tomato (1/2 lb.), rinsed, cored and chopped

2 cups tomato juice

1 cup fat-skimmed chicken broth

2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

1 dried ancho or dried pasilla chili (about 1/2 oz.)

1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chili

1. Rinse pork and put in a 5- to 6-quart pan. Add onion, tomato, tomato juice, broth, and brown sugar Rinse dried chili, break off stem, and shake seeds from pod. Add dried chili and Chipotle chili to pan.

2. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is very tender when pierced, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, occasionally pushing meat aside and stirring sauce to be sure it's not sticking.

3. Supporting meat with 2 slotted spoons, transfer to an 8- or 9-inch-wide pan, fat up.

4. Bake meat in a 350 [degree] oven until very well browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Cut and discard string. With 2 forks, tear meat into large chunks; keep warm.

5. Meanwhile, skim and discard fat from meat juices. Boil juices over high heat until reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Whirl, a portion at a time, in a blender until smooth.

6. Put pork in a bowl; pour sauce over meat.

Per serving: 363 cal., 64% (234 cal.) from fat; 24 g protein; 26 g fat (9.6 g sat.); 8.5 g carbo (1.38 fiber); 256mg sodium; 85 mg chol.