Mole Almendrado with Buttermilk-Glazed Squash

De-squashing Squash

PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER TESTANI / FOOD STYLING BY CHELSEA ZIMMER / PROP STYLING BY LYDIA PURSELL FOR FOOD & WINE FEBRUARY 2023 ISSUE

Welcome to the first Fresca free newsletter! Thank you for being here. I’m excited to have a home for my current favorite published recipe to share with you. This month, I kick it old-school with a dish that is celebratory, but also —practical. Hear me out.

I can’t find an easier mole to make. Almendrado is my mole of choice when I’m craving a velvety, bright, and rich sauce for a casual weeknight dinner. I make this recipe with its namesake ingredient: almonds! Plus, rehydrated ancho chiles, spices, and a handful of Medjool dates to add more depth and viscosity to this quick-cooking mole.

The wild card for me? Squash. I’ve stayed away from the squash world after living in Portland, OR where I couldn’t escape squash on what felt like an endless fall, winter, and early spring. I ate it so much. In all the ways. I never wanted to eat it again! That’s until I figured out a way to “de-squash squash,” which really, just means treating squash as a blank canvas to pack as much sour, sweet, and savory. A buttermilk dressing with maple syrup and apple cider vinegar glazing the roasted squash does just that: de-squashes the squash!

But if any of you are still squash-adverse, you can swap it for poached chicken or grilled fish; which draped in the velvety mole, begs to be sopped up with tortillas.

Mole Almendrado with Buttermilk-Glazed Squash

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

Mole Almendrado

• 3 large (about 4-ounces) plum tomatoes

• 1/3 cup roughly chopped white onion

  (from 1 small [8-ounce] onion)

• 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

• 2 ancho chiles (about 1 ounce), stemmed and seeded

• 2 whole cloves

• 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick

• 4 pitted Medjool dates (about 2 1/4 ounces) 

• 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth, plus more as needed (to thin out mole)

• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• Kosher salt

Buttermilk-Glazed Squash

• 1 medium (2 1/2-pound) kabocha squash

  (unpeeled), seeded and cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges

• 2 tablespoons buttermilk

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

• Flaky sea salt, optional

• Cooked lentils or cooked rice, for serving

• Corn tortillas, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Cook tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Using a pair of tongs, flip occasionally until vegetables are blackened in spots and tomatoes start to burst, about 10 minutes. Transfer vegetables into a medium bowl. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard peels from garlic.

3. In the same skillet (no need to rinse), add almonds, chiles, cloves, cinnamon and roast over medium-low heat. Roast until almonds are golden brown and chiles start to puff up, 6 to 8 minutes.

4. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add almonds, chiles, cloves and cinnamon. Combine with roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, pitted dates and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover with a lid and let stand until chiles and dates are soft and pulpy, 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick.

5. Carefully transfer mixture into a blender. Secure lid on blender, and remove the center piece to allow steam to escape. Place a clean towel over opening; puree until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set mole aside.

6. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-low. Stir in mole and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Reduce heat to low; partially cover, and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring often, until the consistency is similar to heavy cream and reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup broth to reach desired consistency. Cover with a lid and keep warm over lowest setting.

7. Meanwhile, spread squash in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet; drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons oil, and sprinkle evenly with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Roast in preheated oven until squash is lightly golden on both sides and tender when pierced with a fork, 25 to 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through roasting time. Remove squash from oven, and set aside.

8. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vinegar, maple syrup, remaining 1/4 cup oil, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt until combined; drizzle evenly over roasted squash on baking sheet.

9. Divide mole among plates; top evenly with roasted squash wedges, drizzling any remaining buttermilk mixture from the baking sheet over the squash. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt to taste. Serve with warm cooked lentils and tortillas, if you’d like.

Adapted from the original recipe by Paola Briseño-González as featured on Food & Wine’s February print magazine issue published on January 30, 2023.