Kosher Mole 101

Step One: Poultry and stock
You may use leftover roast turkey or chicken. Kosher turkey and chicken.

Leftover Turkey: Strip the meat from the carcass. Place the turkey carcass in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool. Remove the turkey carcass and strip the remaining meat off the carcass. Strain the broth and reserve it. The next day, remove all congealed fat from the broth.

Chicken: Prepare the day before. Prior to cooking, soak a 3.5 lb kosher chicken in cold water. Drain. Pat dry. Place chicken in a heavy pot. Lightly sprinkle with garlic power. Cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until cooked. Remove chicken from pot. Let broth cool in refrigerator overnight. The next day, remove congealed fat from broth.

Step Two: Preparing the Chiles
Use plastic medical gloves to work with the chiles. Use a pair of poultry shears or other scissors.
You will need the following dry chiles:
4 dried Pasilla chiles. If Pasilla chiles are not available, substitute Chile Ancho.
6 dried Ancho Chiles (if you can’t find Ancho, then substitute 4 additional Chile Pasilla)
2 dried Chile Negros
5 dried Chile Mulatos
Sometimes I add more types of Chiles. It’s all optional, but these are the basics. The Chile Mulatos and Chile Negros are essential to the flavor, in my opinion.

Under cold running water, pull the stems off of the chiles and discard. Cut into the side of the chile and shake out the seeds. Discard the seeds. Rinse the chile with cold running water from the tap. If there are thick ribs in the chile, cut it out and discard.

Using the scissors and wearing your plastics glove, cut up the dried chiles and place in a large pot. Bring the broth to a boil. Pour boiling broth over the chiles, just enough to cover them.
Let the chiles sit in the broth for at least 40 minutes.

Step Three: Preparing the Mole’
While the chiles are stewing in the broth: Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add salt. Place 4 medium to large Roma tomatoes in the boiling water. When the skin starts to peel off, remove the tomatoes from the water. Peel the skin off each tomato. Set aside. Toss the water. You can use the pot later, if your blender gets too full.

Step Four: Measuring ingredients:
While the chiles soak,
Measure out the following ingredients:
3/4 cup almonds, unsalted, blanched.
1/2 cup shelled Pepita seeds or squash seeds
1/2 cup black seedless raisins
1 teaspoon fresh minced or finely chopped garlic. (Use the real thing. It will taste better.)
1 cup chopped onions. (Red is nice, any kind will do.)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon Allspice
1 teaspoon powered Cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground Cloves
1 teaspoon ground Cumin seeds
2 teaspoons anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
1 banana or 1 flour tortilla. (Banana works if someone has a wheat allergy).

Also: one Tomatillo. Remove the dry parchment-like skin. Rinse it off and set it aside.

Step Five: Blender work
Check your chiles. Are they hydrated? How about you? Need a beer?
Place the almonds, Pepita/Squash seeds in the blender.
Blend until they look like flour.
Add some of the liquid from the chiles. Add the chiles. If your blender
is small, do this in two stages.
Add all the tomatoes and the one Tomatillo. Add all measured seasonings (above).
Blend like crazy. Be sure to wear the Adat Ari El apron you stole I mean borrowed from Rae.

Step Six: Cooking the Mole’
The stuff in the blender is the Mole’. Cover the bottom of a large pot with a layer of olive oil. (Confidential to the Torres cousins. I know. I know. The traditional recipes call for lard. But this is a KOSHER recipe. Plus which, olive oil is healthier. Nuf said. )

Heat. Pour the contents of the blender into the pot. Let it sizzle. Turn down the heat. Let it simmer for 40 minutes or so. Add remaining poultry stock as you see fit.

Set aside. Let cool in refrigerator over night.

Step Seven: The next day is good for chocolate
The next day, you are ready to go. Now is a good time to pour a glass of hopefully non-Kosher Chardonnay.

Put on your "kiss the cook" apron and carefully check the chicken/turkey for bones. Pull apart the meat and add to the Mole in the pot. Add two star anise. (Be sure to find them later.) If you like jalapeño, add one fresh whole jalapeño chile. If you are Jewish, you might not like Jalapeños. It’s an acquired taste, but one well-worth having.

Oh yeah. Add the chocolate. How much? Not too much. 2 tablespoons. Whisk it in. The chocolate has to be parve, powered, unsweetened. Believe it or not, the chiles are easier to find than the chocolate.

Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the two star anise and the Optional Jalapeño. (Sounds like a good name for an indie band.)

Serve with KOSHER corn or flour tortilla, Len Torres’ Famous No-Lard Refried Beans and
Jen O’Connell’s Equally Famous Texas Style Fried Rice. (Recipes to follow.) If you are Chicano, you might not like this, but the Jewish community really likes a little avocado or guacamole to put on their tortilla.

To keep it Kosher do NOT add any dairy products.