Mega Moles

Get Sauced

by Lydia Navatsyk

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Published: Sep 12, 2007

Say it: "MOH-leh." Ordering a sauce with 30 or more ingredients can be intimidating, but Tequila's makes it easy. The menu reveals every secret, right down to its origins in Puebla, Mexico. Their mole poblano, served over a chicken breast, combines ancho, poblano, chalaca and guajillo chilies, dorado bread, fried tortillas, tomatoes, carrots, cloves, peanuts, almonds, sugar, chocolate ... should we go on?

Just because Raul Castro lives thousands of miles from Puebla doesn't mean his restaurant's authenticity suffers. His mole, served over chicken enchiladas, is the real deal — Castro's grandmother, Juna, prepares every batch. Did I mention she still lives in Puebla? That's right: Every month, Castro ships 40-45 pounds of mole to Philly.

Zocalo chef Gregory Russell doesn't take shortcuts when preparing mole. How could he? He perfected the recipe under the watchful eyes of his wife, Maria, his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, all natives of Morelia, Mexico. Russell makes two pastes — one with chilies and one with nuts, seeds and fruit — before combining them and adding stock, a process that takes four hours. The added steps, he says, give the mole different levels of taste and a greater complexity.

When Rustica owner Frank Mimone tastes something he likes, he thinks: Why not put it on a pizza? Mimone first tried mole when two of his employees, brothers from Puebla, prepared it for staff meals. Forget red sauce — Mimone created a pizza topped with mole, shredded chicken and raw red onion. Who said eating pizza couldn't be adventurous?

As if serving the city's most infamous mole poblano (56 ingredients!) isn't enough, Las Cazuelas chef/owner Alfredo Aguilar also makes a roasted pumpkin seed mole verde. The sauce, prepared with tomatillos, cilantro, jalapeño and pumpkin seeds, is served over chicken with the restaurant's signature pyramid of rice on the side.

 

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