Breathe
By Martha Ortiz
In Mexico, some time ago, a traditional Mexican cook was born. Her origin and heritage were Mixtec, with the flavors and colors that define that ethnic group. But for reasons of making her way in life and finding her good fortune, she began the conquest of other territories, and the knowledge and alchemy of other flavors.
She, baptized as María de las Estrellas Rosadas, had as her identity the mole perfumed with chili peppers, fruits, spices and corn, which from birth ran through her veins and throughout her spirit. Her hair was dark, of an imposing and shiny black; her braid, which she adorned with colored ribbons, was vibrant. She wore with great dignity earrings of pure gold that resembled doves in full flight, and her costume was embroidered with flowers on an infinite background of the color of the night. Her apron was neatly tied over her petticoat.
On her way to the big city, now the capital, to meet her destiny, she visited different villages and small towns where she collected ingredients of life and cuisine. Maria was always in a hurry, because there was so much to taste. However, she stopped in Taxco when she saw the reflection of the moon turned into silver, since she only knew gold and its glow to cook corn. Likewise, the layout of this city seemed interesting to him because of the cobblestones and the whimsy of its small undulating streets.
Maria's surprise was even greater when she approached the temple of Santa Prisca (Priscilla), built and named in honor of the saint who, in the midst of the stormy sky, was able to stop with her hands the lightning that threatened it to allow it to finish its construction. The gaze of the woman of the stars of flavors was clouded by a soft rain and the tears she shed for so much beauty, crowned with the talavera dome that also has the stars drawn on it. It was a gastronomic omen.
With the same enthusiasm she met with the traditional cooks of that town, who like her, carried their lineage marked in beautiful cotton shawls. Legend has it that Maria and her cook friends decided to make a mole to entertain the saint who guarded the cathedral and the inhabitants of the region.
Over a wood fire and moderate ember, they placed their huge pot and added one by one the ingredients of mole, which is the protagonist of this story. Their first initiative was to make it bridal white with pine nuts, chiles güeros, pan de dulce, moon tortillas, almonds, spices, rosita de cacao, apple and pear. The clay pot was cheerful and, to make it even happier, they added some white chocolate and pulque.
With a wooden spoon they cooked this sauce, which by its elegant perfume was seducing each and every one of the inhabitants of Taxco. At that culinary moment, Maria had a restlessness: she wanted something more, she remembered that she was carrying her most precious treasure in the small embroidered bag that accompanied her on her walk. Like a sorceress she took from it a powerful magic powder of pink beets and flowers, because it was also made of bougainvillea, dahlias and roses.
Maria closed her eyes and asked Saint Prisca for inspiration. Like a bolt of lightning, the powder fell on the mole, painting it pink. In Taxco they still say that the flavor and color of that delicacy were almost miraculous, and that everyone was enchanted by its delicate and Mexican gastronomic spirit, and above all by its tonal range and musicality to the palate. So, at the beginning of the celebration, each inhabitant took a dish with a taste of feminine grandeur, crowned with castille roses as if it were a secret garden that recalled the strength and power of women.
The prodigies of Mary and all her stars with her cook friends are still remembered on the palate, and the mole rosado is still prepared to honor the saint and the worldly in perfect dialogue. This sublime dish, which reminds us of the synesthesia between color and flavor, is today a jewel in Mexico's gastronomic crown. It paints palates pink precisely in this October dedicated to this color in order to renew the good wishes and healing offices for all women suffering from breast cancer, with the culinary mantra that from the kitchen everything is possible.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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