Oaxaca Pork Mole

In Mexico, the undisputed national sauce is mole, an intoxicating blend of chocolate, chiles, garlic, onions and nuts. Mole is normally made with soaked dried mexican chilies but these are difficult to find. With our version we have tried to re-create this wonderful sauce as close to the original as possible.

¾ tsp Anise seed, green, organic
1-2 tsp Cayenne Chilli powder, organic
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon, organic
1 tsp Smoked Paprika (non organic)
800g skinless boneless lean pork –cut into 2/3cm cubes
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 medium Onions, chopped
25g ground almonds
50g ground peanuts
1 tbsp sugar
480ml chicken stock
50g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the pork and brown well on all sides. Remove the pork to a large ovenproof casserole dish and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and sauté until softened then stir in the tomatoes, almonds, peanuts and sugar and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the stock to the frying pan, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the cocoa to 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and mix to form a paste. Add cinnamon, anise seed, salt, pepper, and cayenne and the paprika blend well. Stir the spice mixture into the simmering sauce mixture, mix well and simmer for a further 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Pour the sauce mixture over the pork, cover and bake for 1hrs or until the pork is very tender. Serve hot with rice.

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