Puebla, Mexico. The origin legend attributes mole Poblano to the nuns of the Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in Puebla, who created it for a reception for the Archbishop. The blend of pre-Columbian (chillies, chocolate, native seeds) and European (cinnamon, cumin, almonds) ingredients is the synthesis of the conquest period.
Mole Poblano is the most complex sauce in world cooking — more than 30 ingredients, three types of dried chillies, chocolate, toasted nuts, spices, fruit, and charred aromatics, ground together and cooked for hours until the flavour reaches a deep, integrated complexity. It is the national dish of Puebla and the greatest expression of pre-Columbian and colonial Mexican culinary fusion. It takes two days to make properly.
- Moroccan chermoula (complex spice paste with many components — similar multi-element composition); Indian masala spice blends (the similar construction of complex spice mixes through toasting and blending); Persian khoresh fesenjan (walnut and pomegranate sauce — complex, tart, brown sauce with nuts — the Persian parallel).
A deep, structured red from the Oaxaca or Baja California wine regions — Mexican Tempranillo or Nebbiolo from Valle de Guadalupe. Or a glass of mezcal reposado alongside the turkey, which echoes the smoke in the charred aromatics.