how to cook good food

recipes for food lovers

  • Home
  • About
    • Testimonials
  • Recipe Archive
    • Snacks and starters
      • Breads
      • Soups
    • Main dishes
      • Fish dishes
      • Meat dishes
      • Seafood
      • Vegetable dishes
      • Vegetarian dishes
    • Puddings
      • Ice Cream
      • Desserts
      • Tea time treats
  • Supper Club
    • In The Press
    • Allergies & Dietary Requirements
    • The Gin Kitchen Supper Club with A Table Outside
  • Learn to cook
    • Sourdough Demos
    • Kids Cookery Lessons in Surrey and Pop Up Bake Clubs
    • Adult Cookery Lessons in Surrey with Laura Scott
    • Corporate cookery classes
  • Food Orders/At Home Dining
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Main dishes / Roasted Butternut Squash & Black Bean Mole

Roasted Butternut Squash & Black Bean Mole

February 19, 2012 by Laura Scott 11 Comments

Even though I spent the Milllennium New Year over in Mexico, I never did get to try a dish called Mole. Ever since then  I have always  wanted to make it  but knew it involved many many ingredients, some of which could only really be found on the internet. And  as much as I seem to spend all my spare time using my laptop, I am not very good at ordering food/specialist ingredients online.

Therefore, I never would be able to open up my cupboards to find an array of  dried Mexican chillies with which to make this wonderful sounding roasted butternut squasj and black bean mole. So what I did was to search for a recipe that would allow me to make a Mole easily. I know this means that I am foregoing the authenticity of this Mexican dish , but having made and tasted it, all I can say is that it’s muy muy bueno!

My version is vegetarian, not because I am, but because I had in mind this month’s “We Should Cocoa” challenge from Choclette (Chocolate Log Blog). She set the task of creating a veggie savoury dish using chocolate. And this is it!

Usually Mole is a chicken dish. Mine includes roasted butternut squash and black beans as it’s replacement and it worked very well indeed. The dish is incredibly rich, full of spices, toasted sesame seeds and good dark chocolate. The need for meat was not necessary, but seeing as the sauce is so good, I may just have to give it a go  with chicken at some point.

 

The dish was based  upon a recipe I found on the Waitrose website and can be found HERE.

  • What I did was to replace the chicken by roasting a butternut squash (cut into small chunks & coated in olive oil) for 30 mins at 200 degrees. I added this to the sauce once it had cooked for 30 minutes along with a tin of black beans which had been drained and rinsed.

  • The rest of the recipe I followed but did make a few alterations to it.

  • Along with the spices, I added 1tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp mint and 2tbp of raisins.

  • I also added the grated chocolate right at the end of the cooking time and just let it melt into the dish.

Serving suggestions :-

Both Mr.Scott and I ate this with plain basmati rice, lots of natural yoghurt,coriander and chopped red chillies. In hindsight a nice little tomato and avocado salsa would have been perfect to counteract the richness of the Mole.

What I loved about the dish was the depth of flavour the chocolate added without tasting in any way sweet. I am sure that a tablespoon of good quality cocoa would have the same effect.

I know this may not be the most Mexican of Mole recipes, but it is a very good recipe to pull out of the bag if you have any veggie friends coming over for lunch/ dinner. It would make a very welcome change I’m sure to the pasta/quiche/bakes that I know I am guilty of relying on……..Ole for Mole!!

Share via:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Main dishes, Vegetable dishes, Vegetarian dishes Tagged With: Black beans, butternut squash, Choclette, Main Meal, Mexican food, Mole, vegetarian, We should cocoa

« Say it with Pretzels
How To Make Ginger C’Rum Ice Cream »

Comments

  1. Janice (Farmersgirl) says

    February 19, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    Sounds delicious, I love butternut squash and this sounds like a great way to serve it.

    Reply
    • laura says

      February 19, 2012 at 10:17 pm

      Thanks Janice, I love it too and this is a first for me. But, I will certainly be making it again!!x

      Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    February 20, 2012 at 12:46 am

    This sounds wonderful, it’s nice to have some vegetarian recipes that can be as filling as a meat dish and this certainly looks filling and full of flavour.

    Reply
    • laura says

      February 20, 2012 at 10:27 am

      Thanks! I agree in that it’s always good to have a few really tasty veggie meal ideas. Also, I like to eat meals that don’t just rely on meat as the central ingredient.
      And, yes I also have learned from my mistakes 🙂

      Reply
  3. Jennifer says

    February 20, 2012 at 12:54 am

    Thank you for your comments on my recent post Laura, it’s reassuring to know that I’m not the only one who made this mistake – one I will not be making again!

    Reply
  4. Jude says

    February 20, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    This sounds so yummy!  And I’m deeply envious, I spent the Millenium at a party inTeddington, it was fun (our boys were teenagers) lots of friends and their families, but not really glamourous like Mexico 🙂

    Reply
    • laura says

      February 20, 2012 at 4:47 pm

      It definitely was a trip to remember Jude! There were about 30 of us out there partying for 2 weeks before kids obviously and I wasn’t even married yet. I do love Mexican food and don’t cook it often enough x

      Reply
  5. shuhan says

    February 21, 2012 at 11:11 am

    that sounds yummy! i love the idea of chilli and chocolate together, and it’s brilliant htat you’ve substituted the mexican dried chilli peppers for something else that’s abit more easy to find and work with (:

    Reply
    • laura says

      February 21, 2012 at 1:51 pm

      Thanks! I can tell you it does taste good although I am sure would be amazing if I ever manage to get hold of some dried Adobo chillies 🙂

      Reply
  6. Choclette says

    February 23, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    Laura using squash in this recipe is genius. Now you’ve pointed it out, I can imagine just how good it would be. I love squash anyway, but i think it would go really well with black beans and a good mole sauce. I did make mole once, years ago and it was a bit of a faff to say the least – absolutely delicious though. Thank you for participating in this rather difficult challenge.

    Reply
    • laura says

      February 23, 2012 at 10:02 pm

      Thanks Choclette! I know you would love this and I promise it isn’t too tricky to make, just whizz up all ingredients then cook :-)xx

      Reply

Feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Laura Scott, food blogger.

I'm Laura. Private chef, supper club host and cookery tutor.

I love cooking. Always have. My site represents my life in food. With pictures. Food for me is all about interesting flavour combinations and the influence of the growing season.

Cooking is all about sharing and enjoying food. It makes life good.

Subscribe to How to Cook

Connect With Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Recommended by Muddy Stilettos Little Black Book of Best Businesses
Local Food Britain Approved Member

Follow me on Instagram

This birthday cake was so tall it needed a bigger This birthday cake was so tall it needed a bigger box. If your looking for a lockdown birthday cake get in touch to see my cake menu. You can have 4” 6” as well as 8” which are perfect for these times of no parties 🎈 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈 #birthdaycakes #howtocookgoodfood #epsom #surreychef #surreycaterer #epsomandewell #cheflife #feedfeed #thebakefeed #surreybusiness
A couple of new desserts on this month’s At Home A couple of new desserts on this month’s At Home Dining menu.  Lemon ricotta tart and treacle tart. Not sure which I prefer. What would you choose?
#athomedining #howtocookgoodfood #epsom #surreychef #surreycaterer #cheflife #chefsofinstagram #epsomandewell #whatsonsurrey #surreyhills #mealdeliveryservice
Short ribs for one of tomorrow’s orders #athomed Short ribs for one of tomorrow’s orders #athomedining #epsom #surreychef #surreyfood #epsomandewell #dineathone #shortribs #foodandwine #cheflife #surreycaterer #surreybusiness #surreyliving #surreyhills
Lots of orders going out today including this dish Lots of orders going out today including this dish - chicken roasted with dates, olives and capers with white wine & pom molasses - an @ottolenghi recipe .
This is on my latest At Home Dining menu so get in touch if you want a meal delivered for your birthday!
#athomedining #epsom #surreychef #surreyfood #epsomandewell #dineathome #mealdeliveryservice #surreybusiness #whatsonsurrey #cheflife #newmenu
A little mid week sweetie sprinkle cake on order t A little mid week sweetie sprinkle cake on order today, the first of two this week!
#epsom #howtocookgoodfood #birthdaycake #surreychef #surreycaterer #bespokebirthdaycake #epsomandewell #surreybusiness #thebakefeed #instabaker #cheflife
Now taking orders for Valentine’s Day. Email me Now taking orders for Valentine’s Day. Email me to book your meal of choice:
orders@howtocookgoodfood.co.uk  #athomedining #epsom #howtocookgoodfood #valentinesdaymenu #epsomandewel #mealdeliveryservice #foodorders #surreychef #surreycaterer #dineathome #whatsonsurrey
Boxing up a dozen peanut pretzel cookies to go wit Boxing up a dozen peanut pretzel cookies to go with tonight’s order.  Top tip for enjoying cookies if you’re not eating them all in one go
Re-heat them in the oven for 5mins @180 degrees to bring them back to tasting “just baked”. I’m fully booked for At Home Dining this week but still have availability for cookies and tray bakes and cakes. DM me for the menu!
#athomedining #epsom #surreychef #surreycaterer #epsomandewell #dineathome #cookiedelivery #fooddelivery #mealdeliveryservice #howtocookgoodfood #locabusiness #epsombakes
Gluten free & dairy free chocolate cupcakes with v Gluten free & dairy free chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting - special birthday order request 🧁. #glutenfreebaking #dairyfreebaking #epsom #howtocookgoodfood #surreychef #surreycaterer #thebakefeed #freefrom #surreybusiness #localbusiness #epsomcakes
Back to “normal” with all my regular customers Back to “normal” with all my regular customers this week. Amazing how many of them really are local with  KT17 and KT18 postcodes. Good to be a proper “local business” in these times.
#sourdough #howtocookgoodfood #epsom #surreychef #surreysourdough #epsomandewell #sourdoughbread #feedfeed #thebakefeed #surreyfood #wildyeast #naturallyleavened
This is one of the tastiest pork dishes you could This is one of the tastiest pork dishes you could imagine. On my menu for the whole of January and probably forever after - Cochinita Pibil. Slow cooked pork with achiote & orange. I’m fully booked for this week but am taking orders for next week onwards.
The jackfruit Pibil for veggies is just as good!
#athomedining #epsom #surreychef #surreyfood #epsomandewell #mealdeiveryservice #foodorders #cochintapibil #mexicanfood #surreyfood #surreycaterer
The first cake of 2021 and it’s my most popular The first cake of 2021 and it’s my most popular request - the sprinkle sweetie cake. Another couple on order for some January birthdays and hopefully the vibrant  colour will cheer up the recipients! It’s actually huge but doesn’t look it in this photo - 5 layers high 🎂🍰🍬🍭🍰🎂🍭🍬 #cakestoorder #bespokebirthdaycake #epsom #surreychef #surreycaterer #howtocookgoodfood #sprinklescake #feedfeed #thebakefeed #epsomandewell #surreybusiness #surreycakes #epsomcakes
Cheddar & chipotle gougere for a special birthday Cheddar & chipotle gougere for a special birthday #athomedining #epsom #surreychef #surreycaterer #dineathome #surreybusiness #mealdeliveryservice #gougeres #feedfeed #thebakefeed #epsomandewell
Load More… Follow Laura
Ranked 69 in the Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs Foodies100 UK Food Blogs

As Seen In…

  • The Guardian
  • SurreyMummy
  • Mindful Mum
  • Marie Claire
  • Dotcomgiftshop

Copyright

All site content (words, images & recipes) are the property of Laura Scott and How to Cook Good Food. All rights reserved.

Please ask permission before republishing my content.

Legal

  • Home
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Laura

Copyright © 2021 · Laura Scott and How To Cook Good Food
Surrey Web Design

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.