Green mole (mole verde) with pork

Try this recipe for tender pork cooked in a beautiful, fresh green mole, ingeniously coloured by the pumpkin seeds, vegetables, green chillies and herbs. Serve with Mexican rice and corn tortillas.

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1:10 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork leg meat, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ small onion
• salt
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds
• 50 g almonds
• 100 g pumpkin seeds
• 15 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 400 g tin tomatillos (Mexican tomatoes)
• 1 large green capsicum, seeded and roughly chopped
• 2 hot green chillies
• 1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• ground cumin
• pepper
• olive oil

Instructions

Place the pork in a saucepan with the bay leaf, onion and salt. Cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer until tender (approximately 1 hour).

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until golden. Remove from the pan and repeat with the almonds and then the pumpkin seeds. Puree the seeds and nuts in a blender with a little water from the pork. Set aside.

Put the spring onions, garlic, tomatillos, capsicum, chilli and coriander in the blender with cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 cups of water from the pork and puree to a bright green sauce.

Heat a little oil in a saucepan and fry the seed and nut mixture for a few minutes. Add the green sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cooked pork and simmer for a few more minutes.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.