Want to cook at home for Thanksgiving this year but looking for something different? How about turkey with a Mexican twist as in turkey with mole courtesy of  the AAA Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya*? Here’s the recipe:

While now there are many different varieties of mole sauce with origins throughout the country that act as accompaniments to many different dishes, it is a common legend that mole was originally created for turkey. At the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla, the nuns had to rush to prepare a meal for a visiting archbishop so they killed an old turkey, cooked it and mixed everything else they had in a sauce to top it. That sauce was the original mole. If you can’t make it to Riviera Maya to Mexico’s Foodie Resort for Thanksgiving, try the recipe below to make at home.

Turkey con Mole Sauce (Serving Size: 4)
1.25 lbs    Turkey Breast
¼ C          Vegetable Oil
1¼ C        Mole Paste (available online)
¾ C          Chicken Broth
¼ C          Nopal, peeled and cubed (or nopal powder)
¼ C          Tomato, seeded and cut
¼ C          Onion, diced
2 T            Coriander leaves, finely diced
½ C          Lemon Juice
1 large      Avocado
2 ½ T      Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Cut the turkey breast into 4 pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a frying pan, add oil over medium-high heat and brown both sides. Remove from pan and finish cooking on a baking sheet at 350 ° F for about 8 minutes. Set aside.
In a pan over medium heat add the mole paste. Add the chicken broth slowly, bringing to a boil and then simmering until you’ve achieved a thick consistency. Set aside.
Combine the nopal, onion, tomato and coriander in a bowl, add ¼ C lemon juice and season.
Blend the pulp of an avocado with remaining lemon juice and season.
Plate some sliced turkey over a layer of mole and dress with dollops of mashed avocado and pico de gallo.

*And if you want to try the real thing in Mexico, I have special friends and family rates available at Grand Velas.