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2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 corn tostadas, grilled and torn into pieces

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano

5.5 ounces Ibarra chocolate, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

I’m a little obsessed with mole (Mexico’s national dish, also known as mole poblano). I even visited its birthplace, the Convent of Santa Rosa in the beautiful colonial city of Puebla. Traditional mole takes days to make and is just as marvelous and multileveled as the most complex French sauce. Here you get a much easier version with nearly authentic results in terms of flavor. Do a little experiment and taste your mole right before you add the chocolate and then right after you add it. If you don’t get what it means when gourmands talk about “depth of flavor,” you’ll get it when you make this comparison. My great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and I all like to sprinkle it with plenty of additional sugar and a dollop of sour cream after it’s on the plate. You can make the sauce on its own and use it for very impressive enchiladas—or do as I did when I was a kid: spoon a few tablespoons over Mexican rice and chow down.

To cook the chicken, combine the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and bay leaves in a large heavy pot. Add 12 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl, and let it cool. Cut the chicken into 6 pieces and set aside in the refrigerator.

Strain the cooking liquid into a large saucepan (discard the vegetables) and boil over high heat until reduced to 3 cups, about 1 hour. Remove from the heat.

To make the mole sauce, measure out and rewarm (if necessary) 1¼ cups of the reduced cooking liquid. Soak the chiles in the liquid for 15 minutes. Drain well, and discard the chile-soaking liquid.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Transfer the mixture to a blender and add the chiles, 1½ cups reduced cooking liquid, and the peanut butter, tostadas, sugar, and oregano. Blend until very smooth. Transfer the sauce to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir the chocolate into the mole, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cooked chicken pieces and stir until the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.

IBARRA CHOCOLATE

Flavored with cinnamon, almonds, and vanilla, Ibarra chocolate is available in Mexican markets and some supermarkets. Mexican chocolate has a much grainier texture than other chocolates. It’s used in the preparation of a Mexican hot chocolate drink and certain specialties such as Ancho-Chocolate Braised Short Ribs. One ounce of semisweet chocolate, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 drop almond extract can be substituted for 1 ounce Mexican chocolate.

SURF AND TURF MOLCAJETE

* MAKES 2 MOLCAJETES; SERVES 4

1 boneless skinless chicken breast half

4 ounces flank steak

8 raw jumbo shrimp, peeled but tails left intact, and deveined

Salt and black pepper

6 scallions

3 tablespoons olive oil ¼ onion

1½ whole tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

2 California chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces

2 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces

2 dried árbol chiles, stemmed, seeded, and cut into pieces

1 tablespoon crumbled dried oregano

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon tomato bouillon

2 slices panela cheese

Six to eight 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed

This is a simple dish with an impressive presentation, and it works with any combination of grilled meat, fish, poultry, or vegetables. A molcajete is a mortar made of lava rock that is usually used with a pestle (also made of lava rock) to make fresh salsas. Because it is made with a natural rock, it has an excellent ability to preserve heat and keep a dish hot, and that’s how I use it