Best Pork Mole Verde Recipes

MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• Place the meat and bay leaf in a large casserole, and add just enough water to barely cover it. Turn heat to medium and cook for about 30 minutes with the lid on. The water will start to reduce, and the meat will start browning on its rendered fat. The slow cooking process will produce a tender meat. If after this period of time your meat still looks though, keep cooking and add a little bit more water as needed.
• While the meat is cooking, place tomatillos in a saucepan*, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatillos are pale green and soft, about 6-8 minute.o
• Place the cooked and drained tomatillos in a blender with the pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, Serrano peppers, garlic, onion, romaine lettuce leaves, Hoja Santa leaves, cilantro leaves, spices, and 1 cup of water or chicken broth. Process until you have a very smooth sauce. Depending on your blender, you may need to work in batches.
• By this time, the meat should be starting to brown in the casserole. Pour the sauce over the meat and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to avoid the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Once the sauce starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently to allow all the flavors to be absorbed. Add the cubed vegetables and more water as needed.
• Keep slowly simmering until the vegetables are cooked, about 8 minutes. Serve warm with a nice portion of rice and corn tortillas to scoop up the mole sauce from the plate.

PORK MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• Heat broiler.
• Cover rimmed baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. Place first 5 ingredients on baking sheet. Broil, 4 inches from heat, 12 min. or until roasted, turning every 5 min. and removing ingredients from pan when tortillas are crisp and vegetables are roasted to desired doneness.
• Meanwhile, cook and stir bacon in large deep ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Discard all but 1 Tbsp. drippings from skillet. Add pork loin to drippings in skillet; cook 5 min. or until evenly browned, turning after 3 min.
• Heat oven to 350ºF. Blend broth, tortillas and all roasted vegetables except chiles in blender until smooth. Add to pork loin in skillet; cover. Bake 1-1/2 hours or until done (145ºF). Meanwhile, toss potatoes, chayotes and beans with dressing; spread onto foil-covered rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cover; bake 1 hour 15 min., uncovering after 45 min.
• Remove about 1/3 of the tomatillo sauce from skillet; blend in blender with roasted serrano chile until smooth. Pour into serving bowl. Spoon remaining sauce onto platter; top with pork loin. Surround with baked vegetables; sprinkle with bacon.

SLOW-COOKER MOLE PORK

Steps:

• Tear the tortillas into small pieces; toss with the chiles, sesame seeds, raisins, onion, garlic and five-spice powder in a bowl. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tortilla mixture; cook, stirring, until the sesame seeds are toasted and the onion is slightly charred, about 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until the liquid evaporates and the tomatoes start browning, about 6 minutes. Add the cilantro and 1 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil, scraping up the skillet. Working in batches, transfer to a blender and puree until smooth, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker.
• Season the pork all over with salt and pepper; add to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low, 8 hours.
• Before serving, pierce the sweet potatoes several times with a fork: microwave until tender, about 8 minutes. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and slice. Top with the sauce and more sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve with the sweet potatoes and tortillas.

MOLE VERDE: GREEN MOLE

Steps:

• Toast the pumpkin seeds in an ungreased pan, turning them over and shaking the pan from time to time to prevent them from burning. Set them aside to cool and then grind them in an electric grinder to a fine powder. Put 1 1/2 cups of the broth in a blender, gradually adding the tomates verdes, lengua de vaca, hoja santa, chopped epazote, and chiles, blending as smooth as possible.
• Heat the lard in a flameproof casserole in which you are going to serve the mole and fry the blended ingredients, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking; cook for about 25 minutes. Add the rest of the epazote.
• Stir 1/2 cup of the broth into the pumpkin seeds until you have a smooth consistency and gradually stir into the cooked ingredients. Continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly for 10 more minutes. Take care that the pumpkin seed mixture does not form into lumps; if this happens, put the sauce back into the blender and blend until smooth. Add any remaining broth and salt, to taste. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water to dilute.

MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• Add the tomatillos, poblano, onion, serrano chiles and garlic to a large preheated comal or cast-iron skillet set over medium heat. Cook everything until lightly charred and soft on all sides, about 20 minutes. The poblano should take the longest to cook, while the garlic cloves will be done in about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a dry small to medium skillet over medium. Once warmed, toast the sesame seeds, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the toasted seeds to a large bowl and set aside.
• Toast the pepitas in the same skillet, stirring constantly, until golden, popped and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add them to the bowl with sesame seeds.
• Toast the almonds in the same skillet, stirring constantly, until lightly seared and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add them to the bowl with the seeds.
• Toast the bay leaves and cloves until the leaves lightly brown and the cloves become fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add to the same bowl with the seeds.
• Stem and seed the charred chiles, and add them along with the remaining charred ingredients and the toasted ingredients to a blender. Add the romaine, cilantro, epazote, hoja santa (if using) and 2 ½ cups vegetable stock. Blend until almost smooth yet slightly lumpy and textured. Use more of the vegetable stock as needed to smooth out the mixture. If you don't have a high-powered blender, you may need to blend in two batches, adding equal amounts of the wet and dry ingredients to each batch.
• Heat a large, deep pot over medium-low. Once warmed, add the oil. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, carefully add the mole from the blender. There will be some splatter. Stir in the salt and simmer the mole for 15 to 20 minutes, until the flavors meld together, stirring occasionally to make sure the mole doesn't burn at the bottom of the pot.
• Serve with seared mushrooms, tofu steaks or roasted cauliflower, paired with Mexican rice. Extra mole can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

POLLO MOLE VERDE

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat; add pumpkinseeds. Cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan frequently. Remove from heat; cool completely.
• Place pumpkinseeds, salt, cumin, cinnamon, and black pepper in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground.
• Place spice mixture in a small bowl; stir in 1/2 cup broth. Set aside.
• Heat skillet over medium-high heat; add tomatillos, chile, garlic, and onion. Cook 5 minutes or until browned, turning frequently.
• Remove from heat; cool. Quarter tomatillos. Trim root from onion half; discard root.
• Place tomatillos, chile, garlic, and onion in a blender or food processor; process until coarsely chopped.
• Add 1/4 cup broth, cilantro, and lettuce; process until smooth.
• Prepare grill. Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in skillet over medium heat. Add pureed tomatillo mixture; reduce heat to low, and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in spice mixture and 1/4 cup broth; simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup broth, stirring with a whisk. Remove from heat; keep warm.
• Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until done. Top chicken with mole. Serve with rice.

GREEN MOLE WITH PORK

Steps:

• Choose a deep saucepan or Dutch oven large enough to hold the meat comfortably. Place the tied pork loin and bones in it along with the peppercorns, salt, and 4 of the garlic cloves. Add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch (at least 7 cups). Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, partly covered, for 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center reads 120° F. (Do not worry about the low temperature. The meat will cook more thoroughly in reheating.) Remove the meat and bones from the cooking stock and set aside. Strain the stock; you should have about 6 cups.
• Grind the cloves and cumin together in an electric coffee or spice grinder, or with a mortar and pestle. Place the ground spices in a blender with the chiles, tomatillos, onion, thyme, marjoram, the remaining 5 garlic cloves, and 1/2 cup of the strained stock. Process until smoothly puréed (about 2 minutes on high).
• Return the remaining strained stock to the pan; bring back to a boil, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Add the puréed mixture to the hot stock and cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes.
• Thin the masa by mixing with 1 cup water. Whisk the thinned masa into the stock mixture; whisking constantly, let the sauce return to the simmer.
• Cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. If lumps form, pass the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve (pushing with a spoon to force through the lumpy bits) and return to the heat. The mixture should thicken to the consistency of whipping cream; if necessary, increase the heat slightly to reduce and thicken it.
• Untie the cooked pork and carve into serving pieces. Carve the bones into separate rib sections.
• Place the parsely, epazote, and hoja santa in a blender or food processor. If using a blender, add a few tablespoons water to facilitate blending. Process to a smooth purée.
• Add the cooked beans to the masa-thickened sauce and let return to a simmer. Return the carved meat and bones to the pot along with the puréed herbs. Taste and add more salt if desired. Cook until just heated through, 4 to 5 minutes. Give each person a piece or two of rib bone along with the meat and sauce. Serve immediately.