How to have a Hot Valentine’s Day
Love is a glorious thing, but chocolate is my favorite part of Valentine’s Day. Public displays of romance are awkward. And chocolate is much less complicated.
South of the border, Valentine’s Day goes by the name El Dia del Amor y Amistad, which translates to “The Day of Love and Friendship.” I find this holiday a lot more palatable, as it’s based on a broader concept of love that doesn’t require having the “hots.”
Mexican culture has a more nuanced approach to chocolate as well, one that often involves savory dishes and a different kind of “hots.” In the movie Like Water for Chocolate, the heroine Tita Garza prepares a mole of chocolate and spices that leans into the bitter side of cocoa, and seduces the dinner guests.
Tita’s heart was built for romance, but Garza family tradition required her, as the youngest daughter, to care for her mother instead of getting married. And Tita’s mom saw to it that Pedro — whom Tita loved and who loved her back — married Tita’s sister instead. Denied the love she wanted, Tita put her passion into her cooking, and made love to whomever ate her food. After eating her mole, one of the guests pressed Tita for the recipe. “The secret is to prepare it with love,” she said.
Like chocolate and love, hot chile can really get the blood pumping. These ingredients trigger endorphins, adrenaline, and the kind of manic energy you need to melt the snows of winter, if not the prison bars around a lonely heart.
I have my own formulation of mole, which I also prepare with love, as well as some of my own proprietary ingredients, including instant coffee for extra bitterness and buzz. I got the idea from a red chile and coffee osso bucco I once ate at Casa Vieja in Corrales, NM. I remembered this lovely combination while formulating my mole, and the coffee fits right in.
I also use red wine in my mole, as it too plays well with the other ingredients, and turns out to be the only sweetness that I add. After all, I think there is enough sugary chocolate in this world, and unsweetened chocolate makes pungent ingredients like chile, cumin, coriander and garlic more vivid. It all comes together in my spicy chocolate love paste.
While working on this mole recipe I came up with a dry rub along similar lines. It takes 30 seconds to mix chile powder, chocolate powder, instant coffee, salt and garlic powder. The combination is bold, and dark and mysterious. Perfect for the hottest Valentine’s Day ever.
Mole of Love and Friendship
Valentine’s Day is not a religious holiday, but this high-octane mole will make it holy. Use mole in a manner analogous to BBQ sauce: as a condiment, or as a medium in which to cook protein. It’s most commonly prepared with chicken or turkey, but it’s also great with beef and beans.
I often use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, but any cooked chicken or parts will do. Deconstruct and cut the chicken into whatever size you wish, and ad the the pieces to the simmering brown brew, so the mole can impregnate the meat.
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium sized onion, minced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds
2 Tablespoons whole cumin (or powder)
1 tablespoon whole coriander (or powder)
6 tortilla chips, crumbled
2 tablespoons hot chile powder – or to taste, as the chile heat is very subjective
5 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 quart stock
1 tablespoon instant coffee
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
4 cups chicken stock
½ cup red wine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond butter
Salt to taste
In a saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the oil and butter on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Meanwhile, set a heavy bottomed pan onto medium heat and slowly toast the sesame, coriander, cumin and pumpkin seeds until they are dark but not burnt. (Skip this step if using powdered spices)
Grind the toasted spices and corn chips to a powder in a spice grinder or mortar. Add the ground spices to the translucent onions, along with the other spices, including the coffee and chocolate. Stir it all together, then add the stock, wine, vanilla and almond butter. Keep it on medium heat, stirring as necessary to keep from sticking. Season to taste.
High Octane Dry Spice Mix
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon instant coffee
2 teaspoons hot chile powder (or to taste)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix the ingredients and use as a dry rub to season anything savory, like roasted roots.
