Mole Poblano with Calabazas y Camotes al Horno

I've always been fascinated by the idea of this mole, the sweet savoury Chilli and chocolate sauce from Mexico but I've never plucked up the courage to try it. Until now ...
It was worth the wait!

Ingredients

for the mole poblano
12 dried ancho chillies 
12 dried guajillo chillies 
6 dried pasilla chillies 
4 tbsp sesame seeds 
1 tsp whole aniseed 
1 tsp black peppercorns 
1/2 tsp whole cloves 
1 tsp dried thyme 
1/2 tsp dried marjoram 
3 dried bay leaves, crumbled 
1 1/2-inch stick cinnamon stick, broken into pieces 
500ml canola oil (or veg oil)
2 litres veg stock 
100g cup skin-on almonds 
100g cup raw shelled peanuts 
60g hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
60g raisins 
2 slices white bread 
2 stale corn tortillas 
1 medium onion, thinly sliced 
10 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and quartered 
1 large tomato, quartered 
200g finely chopped dark chocolate 
4 tbsp sugar, plus more to taste 
salt, to taste 

for the roasted squash
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2cm cubes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp Epazote (Mexican Oregano)
2 tbsp Dried Thyme
2 tbsp Dried Ancho powder

1 tbsp salt


Method

prepare the mole poblano in advanced
Remove the stem from all the dried chillies and shake the seeds into a small bowl. Tear the chillies into large pieces; set aside. Place 4 tablespoons of the reserved chilli seeds and all the sesame seeds into a frying pan set over medium heat. Toast the seeds for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly brown. Transfer seeds to a spice grinder. Add aniseed, peppercorns, and cloves to the frying pan and toast until fragrant, about 1 minute; transfer to spice grinder with toasted seeds. Add thyme, marjoram, bay leaves, and cinnamon to a spice grinder. 

Grind all seeds and spices into a fine powder. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Heat oil in the frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the chilli pieces until slightly darkened, about 20 seconds per batch; transfer chilies to drain on paper towel. Remove the pan from heat and reserve. Transfer chilies to a large bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let steep for 30 minutes. Then strain the chillies, reserving soaking liquid.

Working in batches, place a third of the chilies, 1/3 cup soaking liquid, and 1/4 cup chicken stock into blender and purée until as smooth as possible. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain chilli mixture, using a rubber spatula to push through as much chilli mixture as possible. Discard solids and set chilli purée aside.

Return the frying pan with the oil over medium-high heat. Fry almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and raisins until toasted, in that order. The almonds need longer than the raisins. After about a minute or so remove from the oil and transfer to drain on a paper towel. Put the fried fruit and nut into a bowl with the spice mixture.

Next, fry bread until golden brown, about 2 minutes on either side. Fry the tortillas until golden brown, about 1 minute per side; transfer them to drain on a paper towel.  Break the bread and tortillas into small pieces and transfer to bowl with spice mixture.

Set fine mesh strainer over small bowl and strain oil from frying pan. Place 2 tablespoons of strained oil to now empty skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add in onions and cook until browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer onions and garlic to bowl with spice mixture, leaving as much oil in pan as possible. 

Return skillet to medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add in tomatillos and tomatoes. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer tomatillos and tomato to bowl with spice mixture. Add 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock to bowl with spice mixture.

Working in two batches, purée spice mixture in blender until as smooth as possible. Set a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain spice mixture, using a rubber spatula to push through as much spice mixture as possible. Discard solids and set spice mixture aside.

In a large dutch oven or pot, heat 3 tablespoons of reserved strained oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add in chile purée and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened to consistency of tomato paste, about 10 minutes. Stir in spice mixture, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes. Stir in 4 cups chicken stock and chocolate. Simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar and season mole with salt and additional sugar to taste. Remove from heat, use immediately or transfer to airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to a month.

to make the roasted squash and sweet potato 
Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly coating the squash and sweet potato well with the epazote, thyme, chilli powder and salt. Spread out evenly onto a baking tray and cook for 50 minutes.  Stir and rotate the baking tray twice in that time.


Serve the roasted squash with several spoonfuls of the mole poblano and garnish with a few sesame seeds.