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DUCK IN GREEN PUMPKINSEED SAUCE

MOLE VERDE is another Mole Sauce that should be mentioned. It is a green, pale thick sauce made from ground pumpkinseeds, green tomatoes, lettuce leaves and fresh herbs. Like mole Poblano it is used to stew or cook fowl and meat and has a delicate but deliciouly memorable flavor and perfume. This mole is very similiar to the class of sauces called "PIPIAN".

QUANT. UNIT INGREDIENT PREPARATION 2 each whole ducks Oven roast the ducks at 350 degrees F, cool and and reserve one cup of the duck fat. 8 8 2 1 10 2 2 4 1 2 1/2 leaves each cloves each sprigs sprigs each each tsp. each cup romaine lettuce tomatillos garlic/fresh onion fresh cilantro "epazote" avocado leaves radish leaves cumin powder chiles serranos water Grind the tomatillos, lettuce, garlic, onions, cilantro, radish and avocado leaves, epazote, cumin, chiles and the water until you get a very smooth paste. 1 2 4 3 cup cups ozs. cups duck fat pumpkinseeds peanuts/raw chicken stock Grind the pumpkinseeds and peanuts. Heat the duck fat till hot in a frying pan. Add the smooth puree from above and stir constantly until the mixture is well cooked. This should take about 5-6 minutes and be careful not to scorch this mixture. Then add the pumpkinseeds and peanuts and continue until you acheive a soft, smooth paste. Make sure the chicken stock is hot and add it to this paste, stir until it comes to good boil then turn it off and let it stand. TO SERVE THIS DISH =====> Cut ducks into serving size portions and place these portions into the sauce to steep for 15 minutes. Then serve in a very hot serving dish accompanied with warm tortillas. NOTE; A "PIPIAN" is a sauce made of ground pumpkinseeds, nuts, spices and chiles and also called "Green Pumpkinseed Sauce". I often find these two terms interchanged, although a Pipian does not contain the chocolate necessary to qualify a sauce as a mole. A Pipian is a fricassee of fowl, meat or pork prepared in a pre-Hispanic sauce that surrived through the years of Spanish conquest. Return to the Mole Page