Puerco en mole verde (Pork in Green Mole)

I think the most famous of the authentic Mexican dishes is the "mole poblano" (from the state of Puebla), which most people know as simply "mole" or "that Mexican chocolate sauce." However, mole poblano is only one of the innumerable moles of Mexico. The state of Oaxaca alone is famous for its 7 moles. In the end, a mole is a thick sauce usually thickened with some kind of toasted and ground seed.

This mole is also one of the better known ones, at least in Mexico, and a favorite of the central region. It is unusual in the fact that several fresh greens are ground and cooked with the sauce. To my mind, it is a stellar way to use tomatillos (the small, green tomato-like Mexican vegetable that's green when ripe).

Ingredients

4 lbs marbled pork

1/3 white onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled

8 pepper corns

2 tbsp salt

water to cover

3/4 cup hulled, unsalted pumpkin seeds, toasted

3/8 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1/8 tsp cumin seeds

1 cup of the pork broth

1 tbsp lard

8 tomatillos

4 serrano chiles (could substitute with 2 jalapeños)

2 poblano chiles

1/4 medium onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

3 sprigs fresh coriander

3 sprigs fresh parsley

1 small bunch radish leaves

4 large lettuce leaves, torn into pieces

salt, to taste

Cut the pork in to serving pieces and place it in a large pot with the onion, garlic, pepper corns and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, and let the pork cook until tender. Set aside 3 cups of the broth.

Using a spice grinder, grind the seeds as finely as possible, but take care not to over-grind: you want to get a fine poweder, not a paste. Add a cup of the broth from the pork to make a smooth sauce.

Prepare the poblano chiles as per this method.

Blend together the tomatillos, fresh and charred chiles, onion, garlic and greens until smooth. Heat the lard and fry the blended vegetables until the sauce has reduced and is well-seasoned, about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Lower the flame and gradually stir the seed sauce. Keep the flame low and do not let it boil. Gradually add the reserved 2 cups of broth and heat for about 20 minutes. Add the cooked pork and let it heat through.

Notes

Removing the seeds from the poblano chiles and leaving the seed in the serranos will give the mole a pleasant heat; it should not be too spicy. However, you can always diminish the heat by removing some of the serrano seeds.

If the mole thickens too much in the final cooking, just add more broth to water it down.

You can get pork lard at Emporium Latino on Augusta or Távola supermarket in Mississauga. If you can't get it or don't want to use it, then simply replace it with safflower or canola oil.