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Squash Chili Mole

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Squash Chili Mole

It seems that the tacos al pastor had just whet my appetite for texmex and I had been away from pumpkins and squash for too long. I knew just the dish to satisfy both cravings, a squash chili mole . I came across the idea of a pumpkin chili mole on What’s Cooking a while ago and I bookmarked it right away. The basic idea is that it is a chili with both pumpkin and aspects of a mole sauce such as chocolate in it. I had made and enjoyed a mole sauce a while ago and I liked the idea of adding some chocolate and cinnamon along with some squash to a spicy chili.
I had a large butternut squash that needed to be finished so I used that instead of a pumpkin. I wanted to have both the texture of large chunks of squash and the flavour distribution of some pureed squash so I cut half of the butternut into cubes and roasted and pureed the other half for the best of both worlds. I like to use cubed beef in my chili and that means that I get the chance to braise it until it gets nice and tender. I did not want the butternut to be all mushy by the end so I simmered the sauce with out the cubed squash until the meat was done and then I added the squash and cooked until it was also tender.
The squash chili mole turned out pretty good! I really enjoyed the way the sweet squash worked in the spicy chili. There was a nice hint of chocolate and cinnamon that made the chili seem somewhat exotic without overpowering the dish. I served the squash chili mole with a dab of sour cream and some chopped cilantro on top and some pumpkin rolls on the side to sop up the tasty chili sauce. While I was eating the chili I was thinking that another interesting version would be to replace the chocolate with pumpkin pie spice and to use turkey instead of beef. Maybe some cranberries could be worked in as well.

Squash Chili Mole

Squash Chili Mole

Prep Time:20 minutes Cook Time:6 hours Total Time:6 hours 20 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 pound beef (cubed)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 (19 ounce) can kidney beans
  • 1 cup butternut squash puree
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/2 bar Mexican chocolate
directions
  1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
  2. Add the beef and brown on all sides on high heat and set aside.
  3. Heat the oil in the same pan.
  4. Add the onions and saute on medium heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
  5. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano chipotles and cinnamon and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
  6. Add the beef stock, meat, tomatoes, beans, pumpkin puree, tomato paste and chocolate and bring to a boil.
  7. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer the beef is nice and tender, about 1-2 hours.
  8. Add the pumpkin and simmer until tender, about 10-20 minutes.
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Beef and Black Bean Chili
Quinoa White Chicken Chili
Tortellini Chili
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Ben says

    December 5, 2008 at 2:05 am

    You are getting all those Mexican cooking just right my friend! Great idea to use the butternut squash. And that idea you are thinking about would work just great. The original poblano mole is served with turkey and rice, a delicious combination!

    Reply

  8. Natashya says

    December 5, 2008 at 4:47 am

    I am electing you poster boy for the squash marketing board! You have raised the bar for the lowly squash and turned it into a versatile superstar. Well done.

    Reply

  11. Elra says

    December 5, 2008 at 7:12 am

    I never made chili before, this one sounds really unique using squash, and I love chipolte very much, so I can imagine that this chili of yours must have tasted delicious!

    Reply

  20. Ameet says

    December 6, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    i love the idea of the mexican chocolate. i will definitely have to add to my next bowl of chili. thank you for a new idea for an old favorite.

    Reply

  25. Jeanne says

    December 9, 2008 at 1:16 pm

    Brave man, assembling the long ingredient list for mole! I am definitely keen to try this, seeing as I love squash and we are having a pretty icy winter so far!

    Reply

  28. Missy says

    October 24, 2010 at 10:08 pm

    I stumbled upon this recipe after a Google search and made it with a few substitutions/additions (bison, all fresh pumpkin, veggie stock, nutmeg, to name a few). It turned out quite well! Thanks for posting it!

    Reply

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