Servings

4

Author Notes

This recipe comes to us courtesy of Chef Priscila Satkoff of Chicago's fabulous restaurant Salpicon. Lee Maloney recently visited and raved about the wonderful experience. See the related travel links below to read all about it.

Ingredients

For the mole sauce:
6 plum tomatoes, roasted
2 garlic cloves, roasted
water for consistency
3 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, toasted (Mexican preferred)
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground peppercorns, toasted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, toasted
8 ancho chiles
6 guajillo chiles
1 1/2 ounces Mexican chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
salt to taste

For the lamb shanks:
4 medium to large lamb shanks (foreshanks preferred whenever possible)
salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 medium yellow onion chopped
4 (12 inch) squares of banana leaves (available in the frozen section of any Mexican market)

Instructions

To prepare the mole sauce:

In a blender or food processor, blend tomatoes and garlic cloves, adding water if necessary. Strain and set aside.

In a spice grinder pulverize the sesame seeds, peppercorns, oregano and cinnamon; set aside.

Make a lengthwise cut on one side of each ancho and guajillo chile and remove seeds. Put chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water, letting soak for 20 minutes or until soft.

Place chiles and soaking water in a blender. Purée, Strain and set aside.

In a medium stockpot, heat 3 tablespoons of canola oil, add the dried spices stirring continuously, add the two purées and bring to a boil. Add the chocolate, sugar, and salt to taste; let simmer for about 20 minutes.

To prepare the lamb shanks:
Season the lamb shanks with salt and in a hot skillet sear shanks in oil on all sides. In a bowl, dip each shank in mole sauce, sprinkle with some of the vinegar, chopped onion and salt, then wrap in a banana leaf and then in aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Place shank on a plate and top with additional warm mole sauce.