The long, easy days of summer are all but behind us; we’re heading quickly into autumn and back to the day-to-day.
For some, it’s a welcome return to routine, but for me, someone who spends their life trying to side-step routine, it’s always a bit of a downer. When I was a kid, my mum would soften the blow with a new pencil case or lunchbox. Now, I cook.
These recipes are the kind I make on a Sunday with leftovers on purpose that I’ll be able to use a few ways throughout the week, to make this return a little smoother. The mole is the kind of recipe which takes a bit of love, but ends up with the most rich, rounded and deeply fruity chilli sauce, which you can use to flavour roast veg, beans in tacos, burritos or as a traditional mole stew. The homemade flour tortillas work perfectly with the mole, but can also be heated up through the week.
Ancho chilli and peanut mole
This recipe makes four portions of the mole sauce: one to use in the recipe with the roast veg, and three to store in the fridge or freezer to use for a quick-from-the-freezer dinner (ideas below).
Whole, dried ancho chillies are available from most supermarkets in the spice section. If you can’t get your hands on them, you could use a heaped teaspoon of dried chilli flakes instead.
Prep 15 min
Soak 20 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4 (plus extra sauceleftover mole sauce for three more dinners)
For the mole
4 dried ancho chillies, seeds and stems removed, or 1 heaped tsp dried chilli flakes
1 onion, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 vine tomatoes
Flaky salt
2 tbsp chipotle paste
60g dark chocolate (70%), broken into squares
75g peanuts
75g almonds
50g pumpkin seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
75g raisins
25g sesame seeds
750ml vegetable stock
For the roast veg
750g new potatoes, larger ones cut in half
400g banana shallots, peeled and halved
½ butternut squash (about 500g), cut into large chunks
2 corn on the cob, kernels cut from the cob
Olive oil
To serve
Fresh coriander
Tortillas
Juice of 1 lime
Remove the seeds and stems from the dried ancho chillies, then lightly toast the chillies in a dry frying pan, being careful not to burn them. Remove the chillies from the pan, put in a bowl of boiling water and soak for 20 minutes – if you are using dried red chilli flakes instead, just toast them (there’s no need to soak).
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, then add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the skins on the tomatoes start to come away and the onions are soft. Drain (retaining the chilli water), and put the solids in a high-speed blender with 200ml of the saved water and the chipotle paste. Blend really smooth, then, while still warm, add the chocolate and stir to melt. Set aside.
Toast the nuts, pumpkin seeds, cumin seeds and raisins in the same pan you toasted the ancho chilli in: you want them to be golden and well-toasted, so don’t be afraid to take them a little further than you usually would. Add the sesame seeds for the last few minutes. of toasting Add all of this to the paste in the blender, then tip in the stock and a good pinch of salt. Blend smooth and silky, then empty into a large saucepan –add a little more stock, if you want it looser.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/gas 7. Put all the veg except the corn in a large roasting tray, cutting any large potatoes in half . Add a good glug of olive oil, five tablespoons of the mole and sauce season, then give everything a good mix with your hands so it’s all coated in the lovely smokey sauce. Roast in the oven for 35 minutes, adding the corn halfway and giving the tray a shake, until the veg is soft and the corn a little crisp. Gently heat the mole, then add a few spoonfuls of the silky sauce in to the bottom of each bowl. Top with the roast veg, charred corn, a little fresh coriander, tortillas and a squeeze of lime. Store any leftover sauce in the fridge for a week, or freeze in three portions for later (it will last in the freezer for up to three months).
Easy flour tortillas
Prep 30 min
Cook 20 min
Makes 8 tortillas
400g spelt or plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
250ml lukewarm water
Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the oil and water a little at a time, and mix until it comes together into a dough. Add a little more water if you think the dough is too dry – it should feel light and slightly wet before kneading.
Tip on to a floured surface and knead for a few minutes, adding a little more flour if needed, until soft, then divide the mix into 10 balls. Roll each ball out into thin circles, about 2mm thick, using a little more flour to stop them sticking to the rolling pin. In a large frying pan, dry-fry each tortilla for about a minute on each side, until slightly charred and toasted.
Keep warm in a tea towel while you make the rest. Serve warm, or leave to cool, wrap in clingfilm, then freeze and warm in the oven when you want one.
How to use your mole sauce
In a saucepan, stir one portion of the sauce with a tin of drained beans (black or pinto beans are best). Serve on the warmed tortillas with a tomato salsa and some chilli sauce.
Spoon a portion of the sauce over a tray of veg, add a little oil, toss well to coat, then roast and serve in wraps, or with rice.
Use as a sauce for enchiladas or in burritos.
