Mexican beef chichilo by Pilar Cabrera: Chichilo de res por Pilar Cabrera

Karen Hursh Graber

Mexican beef chichilo is probably the least known of Oaxaca’s moles. It is one of the only instances where nearly burning the chile gives an intense, smoky taste to the finished product. Pilar Cabrera shares her recipe with us.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef rump roast, cubed
• ½ medium onion
• ¼ medium garlic bulb
• 1 medium chayote
• 1 cup green beans
• 2 cups cambray potatoes (small boiling potatoes)
• 8 Mexican pasilla chiles
• 8 chilhuacle chiles (or substitute more pasillas)
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• ½ medium onion
• 5 miltomates (small tomatillos)
• 1 teaspoon mixed aromatic herbs (marjoram, thyme and oregano)
• 2 black peppercorns
• 1 whole clove
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or shortening
• 1 cup masa (cornmeal)
• 3 avocado leaves
• salt to taste

Cook the meat with the ½ onion, ¼ garlic bulb and salt to taste in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes.

Boil the chayotes, beans and potatoes until tender.

Wipe the chiles clean with a damp cloth and remove the stems, veins and seeds. Roast the chiles, garlic, onion and miltomate on a dry comal or griddle. When the chiles are completely black and almost begin to burn, remove all roasting ingredients from heat.

Soak the chiles in 3 cups of hot water. Once soft, place in a blender with the roasted garlic, onion, miltomate, aromatic herbs, peppercorns and clove.

Strain the blended mixture into a medium size pot in which the oil has been heated. Fry for 10 minutes on medium heat. To this mixture, add 3 cups of the meat broth from the boiled meat and cook 5 minutes.

In a blender, liquefy the masa with a little of the broth and pour into the pot, stirring constantly to avoid lumps or sticking.

Add the avocado leaves and salt to taste, cook for 10 more minutes on low heat, stirring constantly. Add the meat and vegetables before serving. Serves 6.