A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being the chef for my local Whole Foods Market's Local Dish. $10 buys you beer or wine and three tapas-sized dishes, all focused around a single ingredient, in my case, Chocolate. Now, in case the title of my blog hasn't tipped you off, I tend to lean on the savory side of the street. When presented with the ingredient chocolate, I decided to delve in to the world of cooking savory dishes with chocolate. To settle the sweet tooth of the crowd, I sought the help of Chef David Catt in the Whole Foods Market Bakery. He prepared their famous triple chocolate butter bars, drizzled with white chocolate ganache, 99% cacao shavings and pink Andes salt. Amazing.
For my two courses, I strived to incorporate chocolate into a traditional menu: Salad, Entree, and then the Butter Bars for dessert.
FIRST COURSE
Spring salad with Walnuts, Ripe Red D'anjou Pears and Crumbled Goat Cheese topped with Chocolate-Fig-Balsamic Vinaigrette.
If you've ever had an aged balsamic vinegar, you are familiar with it's sweetness. WFM carries a lovely fig balsamic vinegar, and when my culinary wheels started turning, it seemed like a natural match with cocoa.
12 ounces fig vinegar
4 ounces sweet aged balsamic
3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon dijon mustard (as an emulsifier)
dash of sea salt
Blend together using an emersion blender or processor and serve.
My second and final savory course was one that I had little knowledge of: Mole (') sauce.
Boy, I had no idea what I was getting in to- my version simmered for a total of 32 hours before serving.
SECOND COURSE
Cocoa-rubbed Pork Loin Seared and served with Mole
Mole is an enigma. It is shrouded in history and varies from region to region, and from chef to chef. Not all Mole sauces contain Chocolate. Traditionally, a Mole Poblano contains chocolate, and formed the bare bones for my creation
From Wikipedia:
Mole (sauce)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mole (pronounced [ˈmole]) (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulli or molli, "sauce" or "concoction") is the generic name for several sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. In English, it often refers to a specific sauce which is known in Spanish by the more specific name mole poblano.
Mole Poblano
Mole poblano, whose name comes from the Mexican state of Puebla, is a popular sauce in Mexican cuisine and is the mole that most people in the U.S. think of when they think of mole. Mole poblano is prepared with dried chili peppers(commonly ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle), ground nuts and/or seeds (almonds, indigenous peanuts, and/or sesame seeds), spices, Mexican chocolate (cacao ground with sugar and cinnamon and occasionally nuts), salt, and a variety of other ingredients including charred avocado leaves, onions, and garlic. Dried seasonings such as ground oregano are also used. In order to provide a rich thickness to the sauce, bread crumbs or crackers are added to the mix.
Chef Steph's Mole
8 ounces raisins
4 ounces apricots
4 ounces raw almond butter
1/2 cup whole raw almonds
1 chipotle pepper in adobo
2-3 dried peppers of your choosing
4 large cans fire-roasted tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
thyme
chili powder
raw honey
cinnamon - sticks and ground
smoked paprika
ground cloves
oregano
100% Cacao chips (Ghiradelli)
canola oil
Split dried peppers and remove stems and seeds. Slice into small pieces and soak in Canola Oil for one hour or until tender.
Warm a few tablespoons of Canola oil in a preheated skillet- medium high heat
Add the chopped yellow onions and sprinkle with ground cloves, cinnamon, chili powder, oregano, and thyme. (The smell is unbelievable!)
Saute the mixture until the onions sweat, and then begin to brown. Add minced garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
In large saucepan or Dutch oven, add fire roasted tomatoes, canned green chilies, sauteed onions and garlic, softened sliced peppers, chipotle (1 or 1/2),oregano, thyme, raw almonds, apricots and raisins and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. After mixture begins to meld, puree with immersion blender or food processor. Press mixture through fine sieve to remove any fibrous parts of peppers.
Simmer mixture in crock pot for as long as you can! I simmered overnight for a total of 32 hours- the longer the better- traditionally this dish is an event~!
Split dried peppers and remove stems and seeds. Slice into small pieces and soak in Canola Oil for one hour or until tender.
Warm a few tablespoons of Canola oil in a preheated skillet- medium high heat
Add the chopped yellow onions and sprinkle with ground cloves, cinnamon, chili powder, oregano, and thyme. (The smell is unbelievable!)
Saute the mixture until the onions sweat, and then begin to brown. Add minced garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
In large saucepan or Dutch oven, add fire roasted tomatoes, canned green chilies, sauteed onions and garlic, softened sliced peppers, chipotle (1 or 1/2),oregano, thyme, raw almonds, apricots and raisins and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. After mixture begins to meld, puree with immersion blender or food processor. Press mixture through fine sieve to remove any fibrous parts of peppers.
Simmer mixture in crock pot for as long as you can! I simmered overnight for a total of 32 hours- the longer the better- traditionally this dish is an event~!
