This recipe was inspired by an epicurious recipe: Catfish in Spicy Tomato Sauce. I found this sauce delicious, easy to make and versatile. It would be a wonderful base for vegetables, fish, poultry, or pork. In my opinion, the flavor of the catfish did not go well with this particular sauce, but lighter flavored fish like tilapia and haddock would work well. The original recipe calls for canned tomatoes, but i find the fresh stuff is so much better. Serve it with corn tortillas, tamales or even polenta. Even though this is not a true mole (which is an art form and takes hours to make), the flavors are reminiscent of mole.
Quick Mole
6 tomatoes, blanched, de-seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1. Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, spices, and 3/4 teaspoon salt, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Add chopped fresh tomatoes; coarsely crush tomatoes with fork or potato masher. Add sugar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 minutes.
Makes 2 cups.