Espresso Butter + Chocolate Molé from Records in the Den

 You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces--just good food from fresh ingredients. -Julia Child

This recipe comes from Records in the Den, a website "with a particular focus on food's intersection with a wide variety of artistic mediums and forms of expression." Make sure to check out their site for stunning photos and unique recipes like this Espresso Butter + Chocolate Mole made with our Tigerwalk Espresso nut butter!

Makes 4 cups sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 3 dried whole ancho chile
• 3 large tomatoes, preferably not overripe and cut in half
• 1 medium yellow or red onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 heaping tbsp Tigerwalk Espresso Nut Butter
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 tbsp white miso
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 2/3 bar extra dark chocolate (85-90%), roughly broken into pieces
• salt and pepper to season olive oil for cooking

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Stem, seed and toast the anchos in a large saute pan on low heat to soften them. You can then easily remove any remaining seeds. Place the warmed chilis in a high-powered blender or food processor with 1 cup boiled water. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, create the spice mix by combining the cinnamon, allspice, cumin, oregano and chili flake. Set aside.

3. In the same large pan, blacken the tomato halves in a very light dash of olive oil on medium/medium-high heat until the flesh is blackened. Set them in a bowl to the side. In the pan, sauté the onions on medium-low heat in a generous dash of olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper until translucent. Then add the garlic and lightly sauté further. Then add the spice mix, combine, and then add one of the blackened tomatoes and use your spoon to gently smash the tomato around a bit so the juices start to release. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. To the blender with the anchos, add the miso, tamarind paste, Tigerwalk Espresso nut butter, 2 blackened tomato halves, and all of the onion-garlic-spice mixture. Pulse lightly a few times, then add the remaining tomatoes. Blend on medium-low until everything is well blended. Season with more salt or miso to taste, as needed.

5. Wipe or lightly rinse the large pan to remove any chunks of food and return the blended sauce to the pan. Warm on low heat and add the chocolate pieces, stir to combine. Let the sauce cook for 15 minutes to gain depth and thicken.

6. Serve on meat, eggs, vegetables, etc. with cilantro.