cascabel pepper adds rich, deep flavor to mexican mole
Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 01:24PM 
I spend weeks at a time cooking recipes from a single country (Thailand, Morocco, and Italy are biggies). One of my more long-lasting phases has been cooking authentic Mexican cuisine. I lived in Mexico as college exchange student and it was one of the most deepening experiences of my life. The memories of visiting the bustling markets, touring the old haciendas, and eating hand-made 'gorditas' still make me smile.
Occasionally, I like to relive those memories through cooking the traditional dishes I tried while there. Just recently I splurged and special-ordered about a dozen Mexican spices and dried peppers, including a bag of cascabel peppers.
The shell of the cascabel has a medium-low heat and adds a rich, smoky flavor to Mexican dishes. Although I bought the cascabels for a different recipe, I discovered that they were an excellent addition to Mexican mole.
Check out my mole recipe, inspired by Rick Bayless, using the cascabel. I just updated this January posting with the recipe and photos.
For specialty peppers, check out Penzeys Spices:
Reader Comments (8)
Beautiful photo! you may or may not know this, but the word "cascabel" means rattle- like a baby's rattle- or rattlesnake, in Spanish. A cascabel pepper is called that because it has so many seeds that if you shake it, it sounds like a rattle.
This sounds exciting, and they look so cool dried. For a second I thought it was chocolate. Different peppers have such an interesting variations of flavor, they're amazing. I'm really starting to appreciate them now its occurred to me they have other flavors than "hot".
Thanks for your comments, Karen and Amara!
I didn't know that cascabel meant 'rattle.' That makes perfect sense. Dried with seeds, it is like a perfect little rattle -- only one you wouldn't want near a baby! :)
It is amazing how different each pepper tastes. The cascabel, when used with its seeds, has 11,000 heat units compared with the ancho, which has 3,000. But when you take the seeds out, the shell is mild and rich and so tasty.
Angela, beautiful photos and enticing recipes. I've been promising myself to set aside time for a mole-making marathon for at at least three years...time to get busy, I think.
Life in Recipes: Thanks! I'm glad you like the photo. I took it in a food photography class here in Washington D.C. The instructor asked us to bring the ingredients we wanted to work with. It was great fun.
When you do get started with the mole-making marathon, you can also choose turkey breast, which is the more traditional meat for mole.
Good luck with it!
I have always wanted to make mole. I really love authentic Mexican food - so full of complex flavors - I really should play more with this cuisine! Enjoy your peppers! it must feel like your birthday getting that package in the mail.
Thanks, Jenn! Seriously, it is like having a birthday getting that stuff in the mail. Between Penzeys and the latino store down the street, I've got a pretty incredible stash of dried peppers; now I just have to use it all!
http://www.burgundywinevarieties.com/" REL="nofollow">Burgundy Wine lies at the very heart of France, and is one of the world’s finest wine producing regions. Located two hours to the southeast of Paris, the wine area starts in Chablis in the north of the region and then it follows the autoroute A6 southerly to Lyon.
The Burgundy soil is mainly based on oolitic limestone, upon which both the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes flourish. The red wines, made with the Pinot Noir, are more difficult to grow because these grapes are more sensitive to disease or to being badly handled. Towards the south of the region, from around Macon, the soil changes to a reddish granite schist and sand of the Beaujolais. Here, the Gamay grape flourishes, making excellent red wines, many of which are drunk while they are young.
If you have not been to Burgundy, try it. It is a great part of France to visit for a holiday. Alternatively, stay at home and simply drink and enjoy the wine.
You can more information for the Burgundy Wine in: http://www.burgundywinevarieties.com/" REL="nofollow">http://www.burgundywinevarieties.com/