There are as many variations of mole as there are regions of Mexico. This one from David Leibovitz is one of my favorites. It most closely resembles Oaxacan Black Mole, except that the chilies used are ones that are easily found in California. Also, I use a blender instead of grinding the mole by hand in a metate. Diana Kennedy, the grand dame of Mexican cookery, says that a blender is acceptable for moles if you are careful not to use too much water and add only as much liquid as you need to release the blades of the blender. This recipe looks complicated because of the long list of ingredients, but it is really straightforward. It is hard to imagine that so many different ingredients can come together in such harmony, but it really works. The sauce is slightly spicy and layered with hints of cinnamon, clove and coriander. The chocolate hides itself away but adds a depth and richness that is incomparable. This can be used as a delicious enchilada sauce or simmered with poached chicken or cooked pork, makes amazing tacos. If you are feeding this to small people that are spicy adverse, you might want to decrease the chilies slightly, and be sure to remove the chili seeds which carry the majority of the heat. I used 3 large ancho chilies and the mole was not spicy at all–telling the kids that there was chocolate in their dinner made them instantly fascinated. You will want to add liquid as needed to get the consistency that you want–I probably added an additional cup of liquid at the end to get a thick, but pourable sauce. Honestly it is good enough to eat with a spoon, but I tossed it with shredded chicken and rolled that in flour tortillas with some sour cream and crisp romaine lettuce for a fantastic supper.
| Chocolate Mole |
- 3-5 ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed
- 1/3 cup almonds
- 1 TBLS sesame seeds
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 TBLS vegetable oil
- 1 TBLS tomato paste
- 1/4 cup prunes, pitted, or raisins
- 1/4 tsp each cinnamon, clove, oregano, cumin, coriander and anise
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (or more as needed) hot water or chicken stock
- 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Toast the almonds and sesame seeds 5 minutes on a baking sheet.
- Remove the stem and all seeds from the chilies.
- In a small bowl, pour the hot water over the chilies.
- Warm the oil in a pan.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until they are soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the spices and cook about 30 seconds more, stirring so that they do not burn on bottom.
- Add the chilies, soaking water, tomato and prunes.
- Simmer 5 minutes.
- Add the contents of the pot, the almonds and sesame seeds, the chocolate and the salt to the blender.
- Blend until smooth. Add more hot water or chicken stock slowly as needed to get the consistency you want.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
I have severe allergy to almonds, less-severe but still significant allergy to sesame seeds. Substitutions, please?
An equal amount of bread lightly fried in oil would do the trick, Tina.
Shredded chicken with chocolate mole, rolled in flour tortillas with sour cream and crisp romaine lettuce, it is… for Cinco de Mayo!
well… corn tortillas for us…
Wow, I do love mole. Thanks for reminding me how much.
I’ll have to give this a try.
Mmmmm. Not sweet like most restaurant mole. I served it with a crockpotted pork shoulder roast– shredded and then mixed with the mole. I did use 2x the liquid called for and it was still a very thick paste, which was fine. Nice smokey flavor, not really spicy, though my kids still didn’t care for it. Their loss!