Palace Clamole revisited - by a Guest Cook!

My friend - and stellar cook - CT, tried his hand at the Clamole de Palacio, the Palace Clamole.  He made some changes to suit his tastes:  more chiles and also he used Spanish chorizo, which is cured and thus firmer.  He also scaled down the overall quantities a little.  Click here to see my previous post on this recipe.

What follows are his report and pictures.

His notes

Here are the ingredients of my version.

2 oz. pasilla chilis

1.5 guajillo chilis (I had some lying around from my last batch of chili from last year, so decided to try them in this)

6 oz Spanish chorizo (I chose Spanish for couple reasons - Spanish chorizo is cured and contains chopped pork, so it holds well when cooked.  Also, Spanish contains smoked paprika, so I thought the hint of smoke might be interesting)

1 lb 7oz Roma tomatoes

1.8 oz whole raw almonds toasted in iron skillet

1 oz 85% Mexican chocolate (I decided to go with the dark Mexican chocolate this go around)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs

No additional sugar - the Mexican chocolate seemed to have the right amount already

Salt to taste at the end (the chorizo added some salt of its own, so I added about a teaspoon or more -  did not measure)

Some additional water/veg broth

I started off by washing the chilis and browning them in an iron skillet (I left the chilis intact with seeds, only removing the stems:

I then immersed the chilis in hot water for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, I put the tomatoes on the gas grill to remove the skins.  I probably didn’t need to do this, since I ended up straining the blended mixture anyway, but I can’t resist grilling stuff.

I then blended the skinned tomatoes (I left the seeds and core, because I’m lazy), chilis, and about half of the chili water.

I then strained the mixture into the Dutch oven:

Only the pulp and seeds remained:

I realized at this point I forgot to add the toasted whole almonds, so put those in the blender and added a little vegetable broth.  Blended until it basically became almond milk.

Then added the almond milk to the Dutch oven:

I then added the chicken and chorizo and cooked for about an hour or so (I didn’t time it).  I found that the texture was a little too wet, so I left it simmer uncovered for last 20 minutes or so to get to the right consistency:

The Verdict

Served it garnished with a little cilantro, flour tortillas, and some grilled red cabbage marinated in rice wine vinegar, lime juice and salt which I made days before.  I paired it with a local bock beer which I think works really well with this mole.  

 

I probably could have added about 1/2 lb more chicken and maybe another 3 oz of chorizo to make it just right.  Otherwise I thought it turned out great, and I think we’ll definitely make this again.  

 

The Spanish chorizo offered the slightest hint of smoke and garlic, but not enough to get in the way of the more subtle flavors of the mole.  The chorizo didn’t melt away in the sauce, so if you like that additional bite its a good option if you don’t mind the flavors the Spanish version adds to this.  A great dish!

Thank you, CT, for trying this and telling me about it.  What I love about cooking and sharing with others is how we can all work with and learn from each other.  When we cook and evaluate the results, it is more gratifying to tell people about it.  

What is also wonderful is how you found a good beer to pair this with.  I'm sure others reading here will appreciate it!

I imagine Miss Pinedo smiling if she knew her recipes were being used again.

Sugar Smoking, revisited and revised -- From a Guest Cook!

My friend, CT, told me of his love of grilling, so I had him look at a post I made in 2016: 

Sugar Smoking--A Technique from Hong Kong/Kowloon.

He found it interesting and decided to give it a try.  What follows is his description of his process.  Note that he used a gas grill instead of charcoal.

I decided to do something a little different and use duck breasts and quail.  I mostly followed the recipe, but I did use a little more garlic for the marinade (4 cloves instead of 1 - I like garlic). It wasn’t overpowering at all, at least for me.  

I altered the time for boil since the quail are so small, and had them on reduced heat for about 45 minutes, and the duck breasts for an hour.  That may have been too long, but it seemed to work well. I was concerned the quail would get dried out, but they stayed pretty moist - same with the duck breast.  

The duck had a texture and flavor were similar to pork shoulder (I think that's a good comparison, but not sure since it’s been a long time since I’ve had any kind of pork besides bacon - we don’t eat much pork).  

I think I used way too much brown sugar, so I got more than enough smoke:

The gas grill was a little tricky, but I decided to have the gas on one zone only to keep the heat around 375, about medium high, with the sugar pack right above the burner.  I put the meat right above the sugar to ensure maximum contact with the smoke:

A nice smoke:

A nice mahogany color:

 The Verdict

It went really well with a fennel salad and wild rice (cooked in the duck broth):

Thanks again for the recipe, this one's a keeper.

And thank you, CT, for trying my blog recipe and reporting on the results.  I'm impressed with your adaptation and your success -- I just wish I could have tasted it.  : )   

I'm glad you found a way to make this work with a gas grill.  I need to give that a try.  As much as I love cooking over charcoal, gas is easier to work with for small quantities of food.

Kazakh Food from a Guest Cook!

My friend GW is a marvelous cook who also happens to be from Kazakhstan. I have eaten her cooking several times and wished I could capture her recipes for my blog.  It finally happened!  Not only that but she let me help with the preparation and it turned into a fun, social time that represented exactly what good cooking is.

She chose two dishes.  The first was a bread popular in Kazakhstan, which we just called "Kazakh Bread."  It is a slightly leavened bread that is stuffed with an onion, herb, and cheese mixture.  The other was a steamed dumpling called Manti.

GW is experienced and knows her recipes by sight and by touch.  She does not measure, and I did not ask her to.  My notes list her ingredients and my description of her methods.  Come, join us in our cooking adventure!

Kazakh Bread

GW made the dough ahead of time and she used these ingredients:

flour
sour cream
a little milk and water
salt
baking powder

She said she mixed the dough then let it rest for a while.  She cut it into pieces and shaped them into rounds.  Each round was rolled out until it was thin.  She used flour to dust the pieces when she needed to, so they wouldn't stick.

Then she put on a spoonful of filling, which was a mixture of

herbs (this time she used basil, parsley, and cilantro), chopped
garlic, pressed
green onion, chopped
hard cheese (she used mozzarella), chopped
1 egg

She folded the dough around the filling to make a round.  This is the stage where most of them were at when I arrived.  They were resting, lightly covered, waiting for the final step.

Resting

Rolled and ready to fry

When she was ready to cook them, she heated some oil in a frying pan.  Each stuffed round was rolled out fairly thin, so you could see the filling through the dough, but it was still mostly enclosed.  Then she put the bread into the oil and fried it until golden brown on one side.  It was flipped and fried on the other side.

The finished rounds, 5 to 6 inches in diameter were stacked on a plate.  They stayed warm for quite a while!

Manti

GW put us to work preparing the main part of the filling, which was

beef, trimmed and chopped into small pieces
pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and grated
onion, grated

while she prepared the dough:

flour
water
salt, dissolved in the water
egg, beaten into the water

She mixed the dough by hand, adjusting the flour and water amounts until the dough was sticking to itself and cleaned the sides of the bowl.  It was a soft dough and not very sticky.  She let it rest, covered for about 10 minutes.  Then she kneaded it until smooth.

The dough was cut into four pieces, kneaded some more, and shaped into balls.

Then each ball was cut in half, and the halves rolled into a log shape.  The log was cut into pieces about the size of a large walnut.  I noticed she would make a cut, then roll the log a quarter turn before cutting the next piece.  Each piece was shaped into about 2 inch diameter rounds.  She used flour to dust the dough as needed to avoid sticking.

You can see the balls, the logs, and the pieces (foreground to background)

GW finished off the filling by mixing the beef, squash, and onion, then adding some

oil
pepper
salt

She commented that if the mixture was to sit while the dough was being prepared, you should wait to add the salt until just before you are ready to use it, or the filling gets watery.

The rounds were rolled thin, about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, to prepare it for the filling.  She showed us how to fill them:  turn the round so the floured side was down, put in a generous spoonful of filling, then pinch the edges together in a specific pattern.  Then she put everyone to work making the dumplings while she rolled the thin rounds.  Great fun!

Here is the pinching pattern for the manti:  fold opposite sides up and over the filling, and pinch them at the top, in the middle.  Now the shape is roughly a rectangle, so go to the narrow sides and lift them up to form walls around the filling.  Pinch the corners together (four corners, four pinches) to keep the sides up.  GW said it was good to leave some of the filling showing so air could get out.  At this point you have two choices.  You can either bring up opposite corners over the middle and pinch them all together (one pair of corners is one pinch, then bring the other pair up and pinch again).  This forms an enclosed ball that has a pretty gathering of dough at the top.

The first fold.  A finished manti is towards the back.

This is the Kazakh bread but the folding pattern starts off the same:  this is pinching the corners

The other choice is to bring two corners on the long rectangle side together, on the side of the manti, and pinch them.  Then repeat with the other two corners.  This makes a flatter top but, I think, a more visually interesting pattern of dough and a little filling.  I made sure I tried both patterns many times.

The front one is the second choice of pinching, the back one is the first choice

Once the manti were filled, she poured some oil on a little plate.  One dumpling had its bottom dipped in the oil, then another dumpling was rubbed against it.  This had both mantis oiled on the bottom.  When they were placed in the steamer, the oil kept them from sticking to the tray.

The manti were steamed for 40 minutes.  When they were placed on a serving tray, GW put a little butter on the top.  They were served, Kazakh style, with sauces.  I was told many sauces are appropriate; here in the US we had tomato salsa and a pineapple-habanero sauce.

Buttering the manti

The Verdict

What can I say other than these were wonderful!  I tried one manti with no sauce and was astonished at the depth of flavor it presented.  Remember, the filling was meat, veggies, salt, and pepper.  The taste was rich, slightly meaty, a little juicy, and I would swear there were more spices in it, although I knew better.  The dough around it was tender but not soggy.  It held the filling well, without breaking.  You could eat the manti by using a fork or by holding it with your fingers (once it cooled down!).

Heavenly, moist, flavorful

Of the two sauces, I liked the pineapple-habanero sauce on the manti best.  There was something about the sweet with spicy that complemented the manti flavors well.  I noticed the people who are not sweet eaters preferred the salsa.

I was given some manti to take home and when I served them, I put out a mango-ginger chutney that had a little cayenne pepper kick to it, and that also went well.

The Kazakh bread was also quite good.  Frying it resulted in a fairly dense bread texture, but it was not oily or hard.  The herbs and green onion flavors added a lovely lightness to the bread flavor, making the whole eating experience a fun blend of chewy, herbal, and rich.  I couldn't taste the cheese but I suspect it contributed to the rich mouthfeel of it all.

It was a success for all who participated and I thank GW profusely for sharing her expertise and food with me.  Kazakh food is good!