In Good Taste: A Recipe From Azul Condesa

In this series, we trek the globe in search of creative cuisine, innovative menus and forward-thinking chefs for this mouth-watering roundup of Harper-favorite restaurants. From locally sourced produce in Napa Valley to modern Italian dishes in Brazil, our selections in global cuisine will ignite your appetite for both food and travel.

Azul Condesa

Mexico City, Mexico

Though Mexico’s capital city hosts a bevy of superb restaurants, “One of my favorites is Azul Condesa,” says Mr. Harper. “Helmed by Ricardo Muños Zurita, who has exhaustively researched local food traditions, some now call him the ‘anthropologist’ of Mexican cuisine.” By collaborating with local indigenous farmers and helping them preserve their crops and products, Azul Condesa’s food is “classic Mexican cooking covering a period of time that extends into the past for more than 700 years,” says Zurita.

Chef's Picks: Ricardo Muños Zurita

On the Menu: “The black mole, because it has an ancestral historical connotation; its flavor is enigmatic and intriguing, though succulent.”

At Home: “Fruit of all kinds, especially bananas, and a ham sandwich with good bread and no mayonnaise.”

Recipe: Azul Condesa's Fruit Mole

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 25 raw almonds, without skin
• 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 ½ cup sesame seeds
• 5 Ancho chiles, deveined, seeded, and stemmed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 5 ripe Roma tomatoes, charred or roasted
• 4 cups fresh pineapple, ½-inch dice
• 1 plantain, ½-inch thick slices, fried
• 1 Mexican yam, ½-inch dice, fried
• 2 fresh peaches, stoned, roughly chopped
• 2 pears, cored, roughly chopped
• 2 apples, cored, roughly chopped
• 4 servings protein (like, chicken or fish), sautéed, baked or grilled to preferred temperature
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• Italian parsley, to garnish

Fruit Mole Sauce

Add oil to large skillet over medium heat. When oil is slightly smoking, add almonds and fry until lightly browned. Remove from oil and set aside on paper towel. In same skillet, fry cinnamon until fragrant, remove from oil and set aside on paper towel. Repeat procedure with sesame seeds until lightly browned, remove from oil and set aside in bowl. Fry chiles until blistered and set aside.

Move almonds, cinnamon, sesame seeds, chiles, tomatoes and 1 cup chicken broth into blender and puree until smooth. Strain and set aside.

In the same skillet, cook mixture over low-medium heat. Once boiling, let mixture cook for 5 minutes or until thickened, then pour remaining chicken broth and stir. When mixture starts to boil again, lower heat and let cook for 10 minutes more. Season with salt and remove from heat.

Fruit

In large skillet over medium heat, add butter and sugar. Once heated through, add ¼ cup of diced pineapple, Mexican yam, fried plantain, peach, pear and apple and sauté to heat and remove excess liquid, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

To finish: In base of serving dish, place one portion of selected protein and pour ¾ cup of fruit mole sauce over protein. Top with sautéed fruit. Garnish with parsley leaves.

This article is an excerpt from the October, November, December edition of the Traveler magazine. Click here to access the full issue.