“Oaxacan moles fit the bill for today’s consumers: big flavor, little fat, lots of vegetables,” says Brownson. Yet their sheer variety may be their biggest impediment to mainstream establishment. “We need to teach the consumer about the wide variety of moles so beloved in Mexico,” she says, “ranging from green to yellow and black. With continued education, we can overcome that old stereotype about mole being a chocolate sauce. Green moles, for example, are made almost entirely from fresh vegetables, chiles and perhaps a few nuts and seeds.”
Others include the smoky mole chichilo, made with roasted pasilla, mulato and chilguacle negro chiles, as well as tomatoes, tomatillos, marjoram, allspice, avocado leaves, black pepper, cloves and corn masa; mole Amarillo, with chilcoxle, ancho, guajillo and costeño chiles, in addition to green tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, garlic, cumin, black pepper, cloves and either cilantro, hoja santa or pitonia herb, depending on whether it’s served with pork, chicken or beef, respectively; and pipián, a sauce made of toasted green pumpkin seeds, cumin, garlic, cilantro and chiles.
Chiles appear throughout Oaxacan cuisine. “Oaxaca is famous for the many types of chiles grown there, in particular the pasilla oaxaqueña,” says Craig. “This deep-red chile adds a distinctive hot-and-smoky taste to beans and other dishes. Amarillos, chilhuacles and costeños are other Oaxacan chiles used in moles and sauces.”
The region’s cheeses, like queso Oaxaca and asadero, go into dishes like quesadillas and fundido, Mexican fondue.
From Mexico City to Jalisco
Potatoes and soups, like pork- and hominy-based posole, are typical foods found in the center of Mexico, according to Pulido. “In the state of Jalisco, Gordinas, sopes and guaraches are very popular dishes made with corn masa,” she says.
In addition to traditional foods, “Mexico City is rapidly becoming a food-lover’s destination with its plethora of fantastic taquerias, torterias and high-end Mexican restaurants,” Brownson says. “We’ll soon see more things ‘Mexico City–style,’ meaning a little more refined and upscale, and perhaps with influences from other cuisines.”