Olé Chocolate

If you think chocolate is just for desserts, think again. Chef Charles Armstrong, an instructor at one of the world’s foremost culinary institutes, Johnson & Wales University, discusses its role as a key ingredient in several traditional Mexican sauces.
Q: During a recent trip to Mexico, I had chicken with mole for the first time, and I was surprised to learn that chocolate plays a key part in many Mexican dishes. Can you describe the uses of chocolate in Mexican cooking, and how I might be able to use this ingredient to make some Mexican dishes at home?

A: Chocolate has a history of thousands of years in Mexico, stretching all the way back to the Olmec civilization and, later, the Mayan. The Aztecs also drank a fermented beverage made from the cacao bean, which they called tchocolati or xcolatl. Today, Mexicans primarily use chocolate as a hot beverage and in certain mole (sauce) recipes. Two moles that make use of chocolate are mole rojo (red sauce) and mole de guajolote (black sauce). Many regions in Mexico have their own special recipes for these sauces, especially for black mole dishes. A popular dish using chocolate is turkey with mole de guajolote. Another entrée that makes use of chocolate is cerdo en adobo (pork in a spicy roasted sauce). When you make Mexican dishes that use chocolate at home, it’s important to use Mexican chocolate; it is unrefined and should be boiled with the sauce at the end of cooking. Two brands commonly available are Abuelita and Ibarra 

Chef Charles Armstrong first discovered his passion for Mexico and its cuisine about four years ago.

“I love to learn about cultures through food,” says Armstrong.

Mexican Cooking in Your Home
Two excellent Web sites for Mexican food products and information are MexGrocer.com and LatinMerchant.com. Each site features a full range of Mexican foods that you can buy online, from beverages and chilies to snacks and salsas. You’ll also find plenty of tempting recipes for Mexican dishes. If you’re looking for a Mexican cookbook, try Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless, Diana Kennedy’s The Essential Cuisines of Mexico or Nancy Zaslavsky’s A Cook’s Tour of Mexico for authentic recipes. Want to learn by watching? Check your local listings or watch Mexican Made Easy online on Food Network’s site.