Recipe: Mole Verde

Our 3x4 foot garden is in chlorophyllic overdrive right now; I'm boiling down pillow cases of radish greens as fast as I can fill them up again, and trying to preserve them in a variety of ways — soups, pickles, relishes, sauces — so that I do not ultimately hate them.

The best solution yet is a Mexican green pumpkin seed sauce with the animal parts modded out. Stew your tofu in it and make your house smell amazingly spicy, nutty and green.

EASY VEGAN MOLE VERDE

Makes about ten cups. You can modify the greens/ratios but do use at least 1/3 lettuce. Also sub. out the peanuts for more pumpkinseeds if you prefer.

10 leaves of lettuce (romaine's good)
14 leaves of radish (or other strong greens)
8 tomatillos
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of epazote (Mexican herb) or of mint, lemon mint or lemon balm
2 tsp. ground cumin
2/4/6 chiles for mild/med./hot mole (I used red chiles and left the seeds in.)
1 cup water

1 cup skinned peanuts
2 cups pumpkin seeds (toasting the peanuts/pumpkin seeds adds a good flavour)
oil mixture of about 1/4 cup canola plus dashes of sesame/peanut (this is the veg duck fat)
2 cups hot vegetable broth

1. After chopping everything up to the chiles to a size your food processor can handle, puree it all with the water to a smooth consistency. Expect green liquids to ooze out if you don't want to do it in batches. Put the puree in a bowl and rinse off the processor.

2. Put the oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Grind up the seeds/nuts in the food processor while the oil warms up.

3. Drizzle in the green puree while stirring. The oil should be sizzling hot. Stir often while this cooks, for about six or seven minutes.

4. Stir in the ground seeds/nuts, and then the hot broth. Bring to a boil.

5. You now have a brimming pot of mole verde. I canned 8 cup jars and still had enough for three or four people at dinner. Stew some tofu in this sauce for twenty minutes and you're gourmet. Serve with tortillas, rice, salsa. Mmm.