Mole: The Mother of All Mexican Sauces
If there is one dish that encapsulates the complexity, history, and soul of Mexican cuisine, it is mole. The word comes from the Nahuatl "mulli" or "molli," which simply means sauce or mixture. But reducing mole to a simple sauce is like calling Wagner's Opera "a song."
An authentic Oaxacan black mole can contain up to 36 different ingredients: multiple types of toasted dried chiles, bitter chocolate, spices like clove, cinnamon and black pepper, toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, tomatillos, charred onions, roasted garlic, charred bread or tortilla (which give color and thickness), and aromatic herbs. Its preparation can take two or three full days.
