MAHALO MOLE
Go Max Go vegan candy bars processed with green chilies as a base for this potato and pink bean mole. Sauteed peppers and onion combined with red wine, smoky paprika and thyme, then cooked till fatty and meaty flavors and textures are achieved completes the deal! Served with escarole lettuce and kumatoes drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Wow!
Serves 4-5
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lg. sweet onion, diced into 1/2 inch squares
1/2 jumbo sweet red pepper, diced into 1/2 inch squares
1/2 jumbo green pepper, diced into 1/2 inch squares
1 t. salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 Go Max Go Mahalo vegan candy bar, chopped finely
1 Go Max Go Jokerz vegan candy bar, chopped finely
4 oz. can whole green chilies, including liquid from can
14.5 oz. can whole potatoes, drained and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 t. smoky paprika
15.5 oz. can pink beans, including liquid
1/4 c. water
1/4 t. red cayenne pepper
teeny, teeny pinch dried thyme, crushed between your fingers (a little goes a long way in flavor)
1/4 c. dry red wine
1/4 c. additional water
2 t. liquid smoke
In large skillet, over medium-low heat, melt oil. Add onion, red and green peppers, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute till wilted.
Place green chilies plus liquid from can in food processor. Process till smooth.
Add finely chopped candy bars, then process till as smooth as you can get it. Set aside.
When onions and peppers are wilted, add to skillet: cubed potatoes and smoky paprika. Turn heat to medium-high to brown the potatoes a little, about 5 minutes.
Add to skillet: pink beans including liquid from can and water. Stir well, turn heat to low, then cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, stirring now and then.
Now, add the mole sauce from the processor, the thyme, red wine, additional water and liquid smoke. Stir well, then cook, uncovered, about 20 minutes longer, or till the beans and veggies in the mole achieve a meaty and fatty texture and flavor. Salt to taste and remove from heat.
Serve with green leaf lettuce and tomato drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. I used baby escarole and kumatoes (a brown hybrid tomato).
Notes: Mole is usually served over meat. I put the potatoes and beans in the mole and cooked them long enough to achieve a fatty, meaty texture with excellent results.
Although this mole doesn’t flavor like chicken, beef or pork, it does have a prominent meat flavor – more game-like. The only thing I could come up with as to the cause, was the nougat in the Jokerz candy bar. Malt. It somehow combined with the other flavors and the cooking process to create the game-effect. The red wine muted the malt just enough whereby if you didn’t tell anyone there were candy bars in it, they wouldn’t identify the malt as malt. Thanks Max!
My husband and I shared this for a late night supper and we both loved it. Steve took the leftovers to work the next day for lunch and called to say he put them over some Chinese noodles and it was still delicious! Next time make double!
Oh, and be sure to chop finely the candy bars, and put the green chilies in processor before the chopped bars. They’ll process easier.