Time Traveling Table

When Spaniards arrived in central Mexico in 1519, they recorded being served meals prepared by Indigenous households using foods and techniques that had been in place for generations. Among these were stews of “gallinas de la tierra”(native turkey) cooked in thick chile-based sauces, eaten with tortillas and beans. These sauces were called molli (simply meaning “sauce” or “stew”) and they formed the backbone of everyday cooking. While no written recipe survives, the descriptions left by Spanish eyewitnesses, combined with what we know about Indigenous ingredients, tools, and cooking methods, allow us to reconstruct how this food would have been made and eaten with a high degree of confidence.

This dish is not modern mole. There is no chocolate, no sugar, no onion or garlic, and no Old World spices. The turkey is cooked directly in the sauce, not finished with it afterward. Everything about this stew is built from chile, tomato, herbs, time, and the slow release of fat and collagen from the meat itself.

Cooking it was… unexpected. From the start, the color was intensely red, far more vivid than I anticipated. With the chicken thighs floating in the pot, it immediately looked like meat cooking in blood, and I’m aware that my knowledge of this culture probably primed that reaction. As it cooked, the color deepened and the fat and collagen rendered out of the bones, creating a faint metallic sheen across the surface. If anything, it leaned harder into that impression, not away from it. My kids were immediately excited and dubbed it “glittery meat.” Once they tasted it, they were less impressed.

Because this is not bland food.

The flavor is rich, earthy, and deeply savory. It’s chile-forward and unapologetic. It stands on its own as everyday food from a fully developed culinary system, cooked and eaten right at the moment of first contact, before it was rewritten, renamed, or reshaped.

Yield: Feeds ~4–6 people as part of a communal meal
(served with tortillas, beans, squash)

Ingredients

A Quick Note on the Ingredients: If there’s an ingredient below that doesn’t appeal to you or isn’t available at your store, don’t stress, just skip it, find a similar substitute, or let this recipe inspire you to add your own twist. Back in this time period, recipes didn’t exist in the structured way we know them today. People used whatever they had on hand, and measurements were more of a “feel it out” situation. So embrace the spirit of the age and make it yours!

• 1.8–2 kg (4-4½ lb) turkey pieces, leg and thigh preferred, bone-in is best for body and richness
• Chiles:
  • 60g (2oz) dried chiles
    • Use a mix if possible:
    • 40 g (~1.4 oz) mild, dark chiles (ancho-like) 
    • 20 g (~0.7 oz) hotter chiles (arbol-like) 
• 500 g (about 1.1 lb / 3 medium tomatoes) fresh tomatoes
• Epazote
  • 5 g (~2 teaspoons chopped) fresh, chopped
  • 1-2g (½–1 teaspoon) dried
• Optional Traditional Thickener (not required, if desired choose ONE do not do all three)
  • 30 g (¼ cup) toasted squash seeds, ground
  • 25 g (3 tablespoons) toasted amaranth, ground
  • 15 g (2 tablespoons) ground masa harina
• .75-1 liter (3–4 cups) water (Includes chile soaking liquid)
• 3–5 g (½–1 teaspoon) salt

1. Toast chiles
   Toast all dried chiles briefly on a dry comal until fragrant.
2. Soak chiles
   Soak toasted chiles in 500 ml hot water (2 cups) until soft.
3. Roast tomatoes
   Roast tomatoes on the comal until blistered and softened.
4. Grind sauce
   On a metate/molcajete (or blender for modern kitchens), grind:
   • softened chiles, roasted tomatoes, 250 ml (1 cup) of soaking liquid, and epazote, and thickener. Sauce should be thick, textured, and pourable.
5. Cook turkey
   Place turkey in a pot. Add chile mixture and remaining water to reach .75–1 L total (3–4 cups) liquid.
6. Simmer
   Simmer gently 90–120 minutes uncovered, until turkey is tender and sauce thickens naturally.
7. Season
   Add salt only near the end, if using.