Mole verde with vegetables

Step 1: Simmer 14 oz tomatillos, 2 jalapeño chillies, ½ white onion and 3 cloves garlic in a pan of water over a medium heat for 8 minutes, until the tomatillos turn olive green and soft but haven't burst. Drain.

Step 2: Toast 2 ⅛ oz hulled pumpkin seeds in a dry pan over a medium-low heat until they puff and pop, 3–4 minutes, adding ¼ tsp cumin seeds and 2 cloves for the last 30 seconds. Don't let them brown.

Step 3: Blend the tomatillo mixture, toasted seeds and spices with 250 ml of the 1 cup vegetable stock until completely smooth.

Step 4: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pot over a medium-high heat. Pour in the sauce and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes, until it darkens a shade and thickens.

Step 5: Add the rest of 2 cups vegetable stock, 1 ½ tsp salt and 14 oz waxy potatoes. Simmer gently, covered, for 10 minutes.

Step 6: Add 5 ½ oz green beans and 1 chayote and simmer 5 minutes, then 1 courgette and 14 oz cooked white beans for 5 minutes more, until all the vegetables are just tender when pierced with a knife.

Step 7: Whisk in 2 tbsp masa harina and simmer for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Masa harina is corn treated with lime (nixtamalised), so it thickens without tasting floury; ordinary cornflour or polenta won't give the same body or flavour.

Step 8: Take the pot off the heat. Blend ⅔ oz flat-leaf parsley, ⅔ oz fresh coriander, 4 sprigs epazote and 2 leaves romaine lettuce with a ladle of the hot sauce until smooth and vivid green, then stir it back into the pot. Taste for salt and serve at once with rice or tortillas; reheat only gently, without boiling, to keep the colour.