Grilled Sonoma Foie Gras With Oaxacan Mole Recipes

OAXACAN PICKLED PIGS' FEET

Steps:

• Place the pigs' feet, water, 3 cups of the red wine vinegar, the black peppercorns, bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of the salt and the dried thyme in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the skin starts to pull away from the bones and the meat slips off easily when pierced with a fork, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Set aside to cool completely, then refrigerate 1 hour.
• Remove and discard the outer layer of skin and fat from the pigs' feet and discard the bones. Slice the meat and soft cartilage into 1 x 1/8-inch thick strips.
• Place the meat, carrot and all the peppers in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, the remaining 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, the 3/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper and toss well to combine. Cover and chill 2 to 4 hours. Serve cold on lettuce-lined plates.

GRILLED SONOMA FOIE GRAS WITH OAXACAN MOLE

Steps:

• Mole: Toast all dry spices and chiles until dark in a 350 degree F oven. Combine all ingredients and bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree all in a blender, and adjusts seasonings, to taste.
• Foie Gras: Preheat a charcoal grill until the coals are white hot. Score the foie gras with a sharp knife and salt the foie gras liberally. Place on the grill and cover to prevent flame-ups. Turn the foie gras after 2 to 3 minutes and cook on the other side until it's medium rare.
• To serve, place the roasted peeled peppers in the center of the plate. Garnish with diced pineapple.
• Then, using a squirt bottle filled with mole sauce, paint the plate liberally. Place the cooked foie gras in the center of the plate, on top of the roasted peppers, and garnish with the fresh chives.

COLORADITO (RED OAXACAN MOLE)

Steps:

• Put the chicken into a pan with the onion, garlic, and herbs; cover with water and add salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and continue simmering until the chicken is just tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove the stems, if any, from the chiles, slit them open, and remove veins and seeds.
• Toast the chiles on a hot comale for a few seconds on each side, pressing them down until the inside flesh turns an opaque, tobacco color. Rinse the chiles in cold water, cover with hot water, and set aside to soak for about 15 minutes.
• Put the tomatoes into a blender jar and blend briefly. Heat 1 tablespoon of the lard and fry the sesame seeds for a few seconds until a deep golden brown. Transfer with a slotted spoon, draining them as much as possible, to the blender jar; add the oregano, cloves and allspice and blend until smooth, adding a little more of the water in which the chiles were soaking if necessary.
• Add more lard to the pan and heat; add the onion and garlic and fry until translucent.
• Add the cinnamon pieces and fry until the onions and garlic are lightly browned.
• Transfer with a slotted spoon to the blender jar. Add the plantain and bread to the pan and fry over low heat until a deep golden color; transfer to the blender jar. Adding more chile water if necessary, blend until you have a smooth puree. Gradually add the soaked chiles with more water as necessary and blend until smooth. When all the chiles have been blended, dip a spoon into the bottom of the blender jar and take out a sample of the sauce to see if the rather tough chile skins have been blended sufficiently. If not, add a little more water, stir well, and then blend for a few seconds more.
• Heat the remaining lard in a heavy pan or saute pan, add the blended sauce and chocolate, and cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking, for about 15 minutes. Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and the chicken pieces, taste for salt, and cook for 15 minutes more. The sauce should be fairly thick and lightly cover the back of a wooden spoon.
• Serve with white rice and tortillas.

MOLE NEGRO OR DARK MOLE

Steps:

• Toast ancho, guajillo, and cascabel chiles in a heavy skillet until skins blister. Remove from skillet and stem, seed, and devein chiles. Set aside.
• Place tomatoes and green tomatoes in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Drain and blend in blender or food processor and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, heat corn oil over low flame. Cut the telera bread or 4 slices of white bread, into pieces and fry in the corn oil until golden brown. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, thyme, cumin, sesame seeds, peanuts, almonds, raisins, plantains, and walnuts. Stir ingredients together. Add more corn oil, to coat ingredients lightly. Add chopped roasted onion and minced roasted garlic. Continue to fry over low flame for about 20 minutes. Add blended tomato mixture. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Place corn tortilla over open flame and cook until burnt and crispy. Cut up and set aside.
• In a medium frying pan, fry roasted chiles in corn oil along with burnt tortilla pieces for a few minutes. Combine tomato/spice/nut mixture with chile mixture in large saucepan. Add chocolate piece and cook until melted over a low flame. Add about 1/2 cup chicken stock to mixture and stir. Place mixture into blender or food processor and puree until all ingredients have combined completely. More chicken stock may be added to smooth out sauce.
• In a large saucepan, heat vegetable shortening. Cook the puree in the shortening, stirring constantly. Add more of the chicken stock until you achieve the right level of consistency that you'd like. Warm sauce for another 30 minutes over a low flame.