GREEN MOLE WITH PORK RECIPE | EPICURIOUS.COM

Green Mole with Pork Recipe | Epicurious.com image

(Mole Verde con Puerco) Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Zarela Martinez's book The Food and Life of Oaxaca. Martinez also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Martinez and Oaxacan cuisine, click here. Mole Verde, or just Verde for short, is the lightest and freshest-tasting of Oaxaca's "seven moles." Of the many variants I've tried, this version served with pork loin at the Oaxaca City restaurant Casa de la Abuela is my favorite. Fresh herb rather than spice accents are what distinguish a Mole Verde. A purée of green herbs has to be added at the last minute. In other parts of Mexico I've had green moles made with various greens, even lettuce leaves. But the Oaxacan Mole Verde uses just three: epazote, hoja santa, and parsley. If you can't get the first two you'll have to improvise with what's available, but the results will not be at all Oaxacan. Dried epazote and hoja santa are better than none at all, though the fresh herbs are incomparable. The amount of chiles can be varied to taste; however, this particular sauce is not usually very picante (hot). At Casa de la Abuela they combine the sauce with white beans that have been cooked separately, to keep the flavors simple and distinct. It is very important not to overcook the pork loin, a tender cut that dries out easily. I have devised a way of using boned pork loin that gets some added flavor from the reserved bones. When you have the meat boned, ask the butcher to tie the meat to the backbone and ribs. At serving time, untie and carve it to distribute both meat and rib pieces equally. If this is not practical and you have to get preboned loin without the frame of bones, buy 1 pound of pork neck bones separately and cook them with the meat. It will add some body and flavor. Mole Verde is also delicious made with chicken instead of pork. In that case, use a 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces, and simmer as directed below for the pork loin, reducing the cooking time to 30 minutes. Remove the skin before serving.

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 16

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Ingredients

2 pounds boneless center cut pork loin in one piece, rolled and tied together with the ribs and backbone
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, bruised
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
9 garlic cloves
8 whole cloves, or 1/4 teaspoon ground
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 jalapeño chiles, tops removed
6 large tomatillos, husks removed
1 small onion, cut into chunks
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh marjoram
1 cup (8 ounces) masa, either fresh or reconstituted by mixing 6 tablespoons masa harina to a smooth paste with 1 cup of water (see Tips, below)
1 medium bunch Italian parsley
Eight 6-inch sprigs fresh epazote or 1/4 cup dried, crumbled (see Tips, below)
3 large or 5 medium-size fresh hoja santa leaves or 6 dried leaves (see Tips, below)
2 cups cooked Great Northern or other white beans

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.
Chef Zarela Martinez shares her tips with Epicurious:
This recipe, which can also be served over chicken or fish, is an example of the sophisticated sauce-making techniques for which Oaxaca is famous. Herbs, spices, and aromatics are puréed and mixed with stock; the sauce is then reduced and thickened with masa, a ground corn dough that performs a similar function to the roux in French cooking. Freshly puréed herbs are mixed in at the last minute for a sprightly, green flavor.
Masa is a dough made from dried corn that has been treated with an alkali substance such as slaked lime and water and then ground. Fresh masa can be found at some Mexican grocery stores and at tortilla factories. For this recipe, be sure to avoid the masa preparada para tamales, which is mixed with lard and flavorings. Masa harina (dehydrated powdered masa, available at many grocery stores), is mixed with water to produce masa. Masa comes in fine and course grinds; either can be used in this recipe. Regular corn meal cannot be substituted for masa.
Hoja santa, also called hierba santa or root-beer plant, has a distinctive anise- and sassafraslike flavor that's hard to duplicate. Epazote has a slightly bitter, pungent, somewhat medicinal flavor that mellows in cooking. Martinez recommends using these herbs fresh for authenticity; look in farmers' markets or buy whole plants from www.itsaboutthyme.com. Both herbs are available dried from www.kitchenmarket.com.
Either dried or canned beans can be used in this recipe. If using dried beans, boil them until they are almost cooked through but not falling apart.
Reprinted with permission from The Food and Life of Oaxaca, © 1997, by Zarela Martinez, Macmillan, a Simon & Schuster Macmillan Company