Recipe of the week: Mole de olla

Not all Mexican moles are thick sauces ladled over meat, says Lesley Téllez. This “mole in a pot”, popular across central Mexico, is a richly full-bodied, chilli-accented broth combined with chunks of stewed beef, corn on the cob, squash and green beans Serves 4-6 For the meat: 900g beef chuck steak or short ribs, cut into large pieces 450g veal or marrow bones ¾ large onion 2 garlic cloves, peeled 2 sprigs of fresh thyme 5 black peppercorns 1 celery stick, roughly chopped 1 carrot, roughly chopped For the sauce: 8 costeño chillies 2 guajillo chillies 2 pasilla chillies rapeseed oil, for frying 4 black peppercorns 2 cloves ½ tsp aniseed ½ tsp Mexican oregano 2 heaped tsps finely chopped fresh ginger scant ½ tsp ground nutmeg 2 plum tomatoes, quartered 4 small garlic cloves, peeled ¼ medium onion salt 2 tsp lard or rapeseed oil 2 corn cobs, husked and each cut into four pieces 110g green beans, cut into 5cm lengths 1 chayote, unpeeled, sliced pole to pole and thinly sliced 1 large Mexican squash or courgette, cut into 1cm-thick half-moons 5-8 sprigs of epazote, to taste 12 warmed corn tortillas 4 limes, cut into wedges

• To prepare the meat, place all the ingredients in a large, deep saucepan. Cover with water, bring to the boil and skim off any surface scum. Reduce heat and simmer gently, partly covered, for about 1 hour 45 minutes, until tender. Transfer the meat to a bowl and strain the stock, discarding the aromatics. Skim off any large pools of fat. You can refrigerate the meat and stock for up to 2 days. • For the sauce, snip the stems off the dried chillies and shake out the seeds (if the chillies are too brittle, toast them first in a comal griddle or non-stick frying pan to soften). Fry the chillies in the oil in batches, one variety at a time, and stirring constantly to avoid burning for about 10 seconds, until they change colour and emit a spicy aroma. Set aside. • Grind the peppercorns, cloves and aniseed in a mortar. Transfer

to a blender with the oregano, ginger, nutmeg, tomatoes, garlic, onion and a pinch of salt, along with the fried chillies and 120ml of the reserved stock. Blend on high until smooth. • Heat the lard (or oil) in a medium frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chilli sauce in one quick pour (stand back, as it may splatter). Cook for 8-10 minutes until the sauce darkens, stirring often so it doesn’t stick on the base of the pan. • Put the rest of the stock and the meat in a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Pour in the chilli sauce and add the corn, green beans and 1 tbsp salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the beans are almost tender. Add the chayote, squash and epazote and cook for 10 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Taste and add more salt or epazote, if desired. Serve in deep bowls with the warmed tortillas and lime wedges.

Taken from Eat Mexico: Recipes from Mexico City’s Streets, Markets & Fondas by Lesley Téllez, published by Kyle Books at £19.99. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £15.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit www.theweek.co.uk/bookshop.