Recipes

Pork In Beet Mole

Margarita Carrillo Arronte|

Pork In Beet Mole
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A twist on a classic Mexican mole sauce; beet-based mole sauce brightens up rich, boiled pork, this recipe comes from Mexico: The Cookbook by Margarita Carrillo Arronte. Check out the Day of the Dead Party at Café el Presidente in New York City for a copy of the book. Click Here to See More Beets Recipes
Servings
6
Ingredients
  • 7 ancho chiles, dry-roasted
  • 20 guajillo chiles, dry-roasted
  • 2 pound 10 ounces pork loin
  • 4 beets
  • 2¼ cup peanuts
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 onion, coarsely shopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • pinch of dried thyme
  • pinch of dried marjoram
  • 2 tablespoon corn oil or lard
  • 6½ corn tortillas
  • 1 crusty white roll or day-old baguette, crusts removed
  • lightly roasted sesame seeds, to garnish
  • 1 sprig cilantro, for garnish
  • white rice, for serving
Directions
  1. In a small bowl, add the chiles and enough hot water to cover them and soak for 15 minutes.
  2. Put the pork into a saucepan, add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the pork is done, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the water and let cool. Reduce the liquid by half and reserve.
  3. Put the beets into a saucepan, add enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until tender, 1 hour.
  4. Drain, let cool, and then peel them with your hands. Trim off the tops and bottoms and put into a bowl.
  5. Heat a frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the peanuts and cook, stirring occasionally to dry-roast them, without letting them burn, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan. One ingredient at a time, dry-roast the peppercorns, cinnamon stick, onion, and garlic, removing them as they begin to darken and become fragrant. Peel the garlic once cooled.
  6. Put the beets, peanuts, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, and chiles into a food processor or blender and process until thoroughly combined. Add a little meat stock, if needed, to make a thick paste. Strain into a bowl.
  7. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the beet mixture and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Pour in the stock and simmer.
  8. Toast the tortilla half. Put the bread and toasted tortilla into a food processor or blender and process into fine crumbs, then add them to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
  9. Slice the pork into ½-inch (1-centimeter) slices and heat gently until the meat is hot all the way through.
  10. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the pork and mole sauce to a serving dish. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, garnish with cilantro, and serve immediately with white rice and remaining tortillas.
 
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