Recipe for the Yucatecan Chimole sauce
The chimole, chilmole or even chirmole is a very spicy black colored sauce from the Yucatan peninsula, usually made with habanero chiles, roasted to the point they are completely charred and blackened. It is a delicious accompaniment to the dishes who require it, this sauce is definitely part of the traditional Mexican cuisine. It is relatively easy and quick to prepare, so here are today the simple steps required for its preparation; however I have used ancho chilies with charred jalapenos, so that the sauce gets its black traditional color while being much less spicy than with the usual habaneros.
Recipe for Chimole Sauce
Ingredients:
* 5 tortillas;
* 1/2 lb. butter;
* Canola oil to fry the tortillas
* 12 ancho chiles;
* 8 jalapenos peppers;
* 3 cloves garlic;
* 5 tomatoes;
* epazote;
* 1 pack achiote;
* Salt
Preparation:
1) Fry the tortillas in oil to a crisp, until they brown slightly but without burning them. Boil the ancho chiles in three cups water, from which you will have previously discarded the seeds. Take the chiles out of the water when they are tender, but keep the water they boiled in. Chop and mix together the three garlic cloves, chiles, crispy tortillas and achiote. Blend together these ingredients, adding just enough of the water we used to boil the chiles.
2) Once well liquefied, pour this mixture in a pot and keep warm.
3) In another frying pan, roast the jalapeno peppers, previously seeded until they are charred throughout, then put the 5 tomatoes (previously peeled, chopped and seeded) in, along with the epazote leaves which will give an interesting aroma to this dish. Remove from the heat when the tomatoes have melted allow them to cool down; blend the charred jalapenos with the tomatoes and epazote to liquefy. Allow to cool down.
4) When cool, add this newly blended sauce with the mixture we did at first and simmer over medium heat for about twenty minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt; your chimole sauce is ready!
