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Tacos with black mole, smoked tomatoes, coriander root and cotija cheese
Serves 6 Starters and mains
For the black mole
- 1 tomato, halved
- 100g sourdough bread
- 30g crushed pecans
- 2tbsp almonds, crushed
- 1tbsp rapeseed oil
- 50g dried ancho chillies
- 50g dried chipotle chillies
- 2 small yellow onions, quartered
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1tsp dried thyme
- 1tsp dried oregano
- 2tbsp black sesame seeds
- pinch cinnamon
- 5 black peppercorns
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 cloves
- 1tsp freshly grated ginger root
- 130g dark raisins
- 400ml vegetable stock
To serve
- 6 fermented potato tortillas (see note, below)
- small smoked tomatoes (see recipe, below)
- coriander, picked leaves and finely chopped roots (you can buy coriander roots from Asian supermarkets and online)
- 60g cotija, or any other hard- style cheese such as Pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano
For the smoked tomatoes
- 500g tomatoes
- 1 garlic bulb, halved widthways fresh mixed herbs, such as rosemary and thyme
- rind 1 unwaxed lemon
- 200ml rapeseed
- 1⁄2tsp salt
- 00-200g smoker chips sterilised glass jar
Method
You can find the recipe for the fermented potato tortillas here.
Start with the mole. Light the table barbecue and let the charcoal take on a fine, soft glow. Grill the tomato halves with the cut edge facing down until the outside has blackened somewhat.
Tear the sourdough into small pieces and place together with the pecans and almonds in a dry cast-iron pan and put on the barbecue. Drip a little oil on top and shake the pan occasionally to ensure everything toasts evenly, which should take around 5-10 minutes. Place the mixture in a mixing bowl and set aside. Slice open the chillies and remove the seeds – set these aside. Place the chillies in a food processor and blend until they form a powder. Set aside. Put the reserved chilli seeds in the cast-iron pan and toast them for around 5 minutes, until they are burnt and completely black. Put the burnt seeds in a bowl and pour 200ml cold water over them. Leave to stand for 11⁄2 hours. Strain and set aside.
Return the cast-iron pan to the barbecue to a spot where the temperature is lower. Pour in the oil, add the onions and tomato and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the garlic and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add the thyme, oregano, sesame seeds, cinnamon, peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and raisins. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the bread and nut mix, chilli powder, chilli seeds and vegetable stock and cook for around 10 minutes.
Pour the mole into a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour everything back into the cast-iron pan and leave to cook for a further 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure it does not burn. Add a little water if it gets too dry. Place a tortilla on each plate and dollop 2tbsp of mole onto each one. Top with 3 smoked tomatoes, coriander and finish by grating the cheese over it.
For the smoked tomatoes
MAKES 1 JAR
Light the barbecue. Get a large baking tray and a smaller heatproof plate with a 1-11⁄2cm high edge (the edge cannot be higher than the one on the large baking tray). Place a thin layer of smoker chips in the bottom of the large baking tray, then place the smaller plate in the tray.
Position the tomatoes, garlic, herbs and grated lemon rind on the smaller plate. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the salt. Cover with tinfoil and place the baking tray with the plate on the grill while there are still flames.
After a few minutes, the chips will begin to smoke and the smoke will seep out from under the foil (if the smoke doesn’t seep out, you can unfold the foil a little at one corner to check it is smoking).
Remove the baking tray from the grill when it begins to smoke and leave it to stand on the ground for a few minutes. Repeat this step 3-4 times.
Remove the foil to check whether the tomatoes and oil have taken on colour. Otherwise, repeat the procedure a few more times.
Place the smoked tomatoes in a sterilised glass jar, pour the oil over and seal the jar. If you like, you can fry the tomatoes quickly in some oil just before serving – this will add heat to the tomatoes and the flavours will blossom again.
This recipe was taken from the June/July 2020 issue of Food and Travel.
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