Mole Madness 🌶 🥬
Your First Mole... in 20 Minutes 👀
Greetings Friends, 🥂 🌶
Continuing our “Journey Through Mexico” 🇲🇽 with one of my favorite recipes. After an intro to all-things-Mole this week… today we are going to make one. And it’s probably the fastest mole you can make, which is a perfect way to dip your toe in.
To recap. So far we have covered 3 salsa recipes 💃 🌶 , a mouth watering ceviche 🐠 , killer guacamole 🥑 , crushable margaritas 🍹 , Perfect Fajitas 🥩 and… The Best Carnitas Ever 🌯
Homemade Flour Tortillas? No problem ⬇️
You could roll all of those recipes into the most epic dinner party/cookout for 2022! 🙌 🔥 😂
On top of that, by cooking at home you’re saving major $$$ vs eating out… you control the quality… and don’t underestimate the ROI on cooking for family/friends.
We’ve got a few more things to cover before we leave Mexico 🇲🇽 … we will definitely be returning down the road! Grilling season is upon us… and soon will be time for Canning, Preserving & Summer BBQ’s… so much great content in the pipeline! 🙌
May Coffee ☕️
The Octopod Coffee community continues growing! 🙌
I was already a serious coffee lover but now: sourcing, roasting and providing these coffees for you all has taken it to the next level 😆 🙌
I’m now using multiple pour-over setups, upgrading grinder(s? 😂), and looking at an espresso machine… in short… Octopod Coffee remains one of the only quality coffee sources that ships to you 48 hours from roasting… every month.
Octo-Blend: Kenya 🇰🇪 Colombia 🇨🇴 Ethiopia 🇪🇹
Tasting Notes: Black Currant, Grape, Molasses, Black Tea
A one-time blend emphasizing sweet and sour fruit flavors; bracing acidity with a touch of bitter on the back to round out a blend that is phenomenal for Black coffee drinkers, and also makes a killer Cold-Brew!
Colombia 🇨🇴 (Honey):
Tasting Notes: Tangerine, Plum, Nougat
Sourced from a communal lot in Antioquia at 2200 meters above sea level, these farmers grow some of the highest quality beans on the globe. We perfectly roast these precious beans to bring you a special cup of coffee.
Remember Subscribers get FREE SHIPPING in the USA 🇺🇸
May is insanely tasty.. so get preorders in now… limited size to roast.
Mole Pipian 🌶 🥬
I’ll never forget my intro to Mole Pipian. The reason? A little backstory…
I was hosting a Mexican chef for a Four Hands Dinner. (Industry term for 2 chefs, collaborating and putting out a special menu. Limited time, usually 1 or 2 nights.) 2 chefs.. 4 hands.. I didn’t make up the name but that’s what they’re called 👀
Anyway, I was really excited to cook with this chef. Really talented guy and, as usual, I was extremely curious to learn more. So we exchanged a few emails, started putting a menu together… and then he sent me a list of ingredients and supplies he’d most likely need so I could have those ready when he arrived.
We make the final menu and get to prepping… and one of the courses was a duck that we were serving with this “Mole Pipian”.. which I knew was a green sauce but that was about it.
So he shows me the recipe and the process… and I just kind of look up at him. He must’ve seen the look in my eyes (probably emoting something “that’s it???” 😂 ) and he says “trust me… you’ll love this”.
Understatement of the year. The flavors were dynamite, the preparation was unconventional (to me), and thus began my love for Mole Pipian and exploring it’s many other iterations.
What is Mole Pipian?
As we covered moles in the last substack, this mole is green and thickened using pumpkin seeds (pepitas). Flavors are bright, zippy, spicy with a wonderful texture from the thickening of the pumpkin seeds. Pipian goes especially well with poultry. Chicken is very common because that is a cheaper option vs duck. Either work. It also works wonderfully with Shrimp 🦐 and firm white fish.
What makes the Pipian green?
Cilantro… Serrano Chili…. and… Romaine Lettuce 🥬 . Yeah, you heard me! What’s more, my chef friend had a special addition that I hadn’t seen anyone else add. His rendition is the one that holds a special place in my heart. So I’m dropping that one for you today.
I bring you… the wonderful… delicious Mole Pipian
