Black Bean Mole

I spent this past weekend in Providence, one of my favorite cities around, and ran the inaugural Providence Rock N’ Roll half-marathon. The night before my friend and I went to Garden Grille Café, a vegetarian restaurant I can’t get enough of right on the edge of town. The special that night was cornmeal-crusted tempeh with a black bean mole sauce and roasted fingerling potatoes. There was nothing in that name I didn’t like so I got it and ate every last drop of sauce on that plate.

The mole was the best I ever had; it was also the first I ever had, but it was still incredibly good. Spicy, sweet, tangy—almost like a barbeque sauce but with a tantalizing bitterness. Of course I had to recreate it. Two days later I was making this in my own kitchen. I wasn’t sure if I had hit the nail on the head until I realized I was literally licking my food processor clean. At that point I figured it was pretty good.

This mole is about as untraditional as it comes. For one, you don’t cook it at all. It’s entirely made in the food processor. I also used spices instead of actual chilies because that’s what I had on hand. That makes this a super friendly recipe if it’s your first mole.

Black Bean Mole

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 5 Tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
• ~1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the water into a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Slowly add the water while blending until the sauce reaches a fluid yet thick consistency.
3. Heat up before serving. Scoop a generous amount over protein like tofu, tempeh, or chicken.

After dinner we went over to Wildflour and I ate one of these. It’s OK; I was carb-loading.