Holy Mole
Spicing up life with Mexico’s saucy dish
Executive summary by darmansjah
Mole Poblanco, a complex mixture of chocolate, chilies,
nuts, and spices, is among the most revered dishes in Mexican cooking. Nearly every
grandmother in Puebla, the dish’s hometown, has her own rendition of the
semisweet, earthy sauce, typically made with more than 20 ingredients. Mole poblano’s
disputed origins may date to either a 17th-century nun at the city’s
famed convent of Santa Rosa de Lima or to the pre-Columbian Aztecs, whose
Nahuatl word for sauce is molli. The purest
experience of this classic fare is the most traditional: in an abuela’s kitchen,
ladled over a roasted turkey drumstick. For those without a poblana grand
mother, the best alternative is the no-frills Fonda La Mexicana, a 56-year-old institution in Puebla’s downtown,
where a single chicken leg is served with rice, radishes, and a lake of dark
mole poblano sprinkled with sesame seeds. On weekends, families sit beneath
paper flags as waiters deliver cold cervezas and extra tortillas for sopping up
the sauce. Contemporary chefs are showcasing mole poblano in the country’s
inventive haute cuisine. Try the four-course tasting menu at El Mural de los Poblanos, which has one
of Pueblas’ best mescal liquor selections. Better yet, let the restaurant’s
chef, Liz Galica, teach you to make your own mole poblano. For a deeper
educations, take Eat Mexico’s mole
tour, which includes a trip to the market.
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