Una sopa caldoza con chile de arbol
This soup had chicken broth and lots of pasta. The salsa was made with chile de arbol y ajo tostado (chili and garlic, toasted) plus a little water and salt.
Mezcal is made from the Agave americana, whereas tequila is made from blue agave. It's traditional to rub sal de gusano (salt+dried worms+chili powder) on the lime, squeeze the lime juice into the mouth, then take a sip of mezcal. Since mezcal is very strong, the flavor of lime definitely helps make it more palatable.
Tortillas blandas (soft tortillas)
These corn tortillas were wrapped tightly in towels to keep warm. Tortillas are the utensil of choice for mole because you tear off a piece, fold the corners to make a base, then scoop up mole sauce.
Mole negro con pollo
Mole negro is one of 7 of the famous moles in Oaxaca and takes the most time to make. This mole was prepared over a period of 5 days. First, chile chiluade, chile pasilla mexicano, ajo (garlic), tomato, y cebolla (onion) are cooked together until they form a paste. In a separate pot, pan frito (fried bread), ajonjolí (sesame seeds), plátano macho (plantain), almendras (almonds), pasas (raisins), canela (cinnamon), oregano, pimienta (pepper), y clavos (cloves), Mexican chocolate, and cook, then add the tomato mixture and chicken stock and purée. The chicken is added at the very end to avoid overcooking.
It's typical for most households in Mexico to have at least 2 licuadoras (blenders): one for fruit and another for mole. Aurea was aghast at the fact that a blender is not considered indispensable by most people in the US.
Feliz cumpleaños, Arturo!
This was a special lunch celebrating the 60th birthday of Arturo, the brother of the wife of Aurea's nephew, Diego. The cake was made with almendras (almonds) and nogales (walnuts).
This is a molenillo, which is used to properly mix mole. It's also essential for making chocolate (the beverage of melted Mexican chocolate and water) because it provides more espuma (froth) than a fork could.
Cazuela para mole
This is the special dish used for cooking mole.
La jarra para chocolate
This jug is used to make the drink, chocolate. The man behind the jug is Abuelo (Grandpa) Diego is the father of Aurea's nephew Diego, whose wife is sister to the birthday boy, Arturo.
Comments
Post a Comment