Soooo, im at that awkward moment in life where i’ve finish work and im waiting to hear if I will be graced with the privilege JSA. So in other words im skint (not much change there). No money to buy fancy ingredients, but i do have lots of little bits of things in the cupboard. No whole bags, just a few tbsp of this and a few of that….. so I made this kinda of mole inspired sauce just with what I had around. I dont really know how to make a traditional mole, but maybe someday I will… but until then, this will certainly satisfy. the sauce is flavourful and thick, it sticks to your ribs and warms you through without the effort of grinding  nuts and other such things for a more traditional mole. Roast cauliflower makes a great sub for the usual meat that accompanies a mole sauce but you could use your favorite meat substitute instead or cooked beans/lentils. Its your life, But if like me you got 4 cauliflowers for £1.20, this is a beautiful way to put them to use 🙂

Ingredients:
For sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
3-4 chillies, sliced with seeds
pinch o’ fine sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp chipotle flakes
1 tbsp cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water 
1 tbsp peanut butter 
2 tbsp tahni
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cocoa powder
For the roasted cauliflower:
2 small heads of cauliflower
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp ground cumin

Method:
preheat the oven to 200c/400f. To roast the cauliflower chop it into smallish florrets and chuck in a baking pan and toss through the cumin, lime and oil. roast for 25-35 minutes until crisp on the out side but tender on the inside.
Saute the shallot in the oil until translucent, then add the garlic, chilli and salt ‘n’ pepper and cook until fragrant ( bout a minute). Toss in the chipotle flakes and cumin seed as toss about for a few seconds to bring out the flavour a little, stir through the tomato paste and then the tinned tomatoes. Add the remaining sauce ingredients (if the cocoa if lumpy, sift it in). Stir well, and blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth. Add the roasted cauliflower to the sauce and heat through before serving with tortillas and rice.