White Chocolate Mole
This chile pepper is often mislabeled ‘Pasilla’, which is a different pepper entirely.It is one of the most popular chiles in Mexico and has won the appreciation of many a chef worldwide because of the superior flavor it has over regular bell peppers.
They have a tough outer skin that usually requires roasting and peeling before use. These very large chile peppers are most popular in chiles rellenos recipes, but cooking with these as a substitute for bell peppers in any recipe will enhance the flavor.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 whole cloves
1 fresh poblano chile, seeded and chopped
2 fresh serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
1 small clove garlic
1/2 white Spanish onion, cut into chunks
5 animal crackers, toasted
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
Instructions:
Preheat an oven to 350F. Spread the peanuts, almonds and walnuts onto a jelly-roll pan and toast them in the oven, shaking the pan occasionally, until the nuts are slightly colored and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.
In a blender, combine the nuts, water, cinnamon stick and cloves; blend until the nuts are very finely ground. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to release the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids.
In the blender, combine the chiles, garlic, onion and nut liquid. Add the animal crackers and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to release the liquid. Discard the solids.
In a large saucepan, heat the butter and stir in the nut-chile liquid. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is the consistency of thick pea soup, about 15 minutes.
Stir in chocolate, salt and pepper until the chocolate is melted. Use immediately.
The mole without the chocolate can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to a week. To serve, heat in a saucepan and stir in the chocolate.
Makes about 1-1/2 cups, or 12 servings.
Recipe from www.azcentral.com.