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Classic Mole Poblano is a complex, rich sauce used in dishes for festive celebrations such as holidays and weddings. Making this sauce takes several hours and is a labor of love, but this mole is worth it.
Four types of chiles, Mexican chocolate, nuts, seeds, spices, and fruit blend together to create a thick sauce that is reddish-brown in color, smoky, earthy, and slightly sweet.
Mole Poblano has become the national dish of Mexico. Every cook has his or her own recipe, some with over 30 ingredients, and taking three days to make.
While this recipe still has a ton of ingredients, I’ve taken some shortcuts to make it more manageable. The biggest tip that I can offer you is to prep all of your ingredients before beginning. The French call this Mise en Place and the Mexicans call it Estate Listo. Also, give yourself enough time to go slowly and enjoy the process. Food made with love always tastes better!
I first tasted mole during a business trip to Mexico City. I was instantly a fan and craved more of it. Unfortunately, every time I tried mole in the States, I was disappointed. They were either too spicy, too sweet, or just missing something – and I didn’t have the time to even think about making it myself.
Fast forward a decade while on a trip back to Houston, I tasted a mole that erased my ‘mole cynicism’ and inspired me to take the time and tackle making a mole at home.
Flora Mexican Kitchen and their Mole Enchiladas transported me back to my trips to Mexico City! First, the restaurant is simply breathtaking with its floor-to-ceiling windows and elaborate chandeliers. The staff is very knowledgeable and willing to take the time to discuss the dish with you, which as a foodie is almost as important and delectable as the food itself.
Now let me tell you about the food. OMG, the food! Right off the bat, order yourself a Pina Fresca cocktail. It’s like a pina colada but without the overly sweet, cloying, milky stuff that coats your tongue in a not-so-pleasant way. This cocktail is a perfect combination of rum, coconut, and pineapple that’s subtly sweet and perfectly balanced.
While you’re sipping your amazing cocktail, try their Charred Octopus as a starter. Be sure to load your fork with a perfect bite of succulent, impeccably grilled octopus, a bit of spicy chorizo, then sweet potato, all dipped in matcha salsa and sour cream. Now close your eyes and lose yourself in the intricate explosion of flavors in your mouth. Yes, you will sound like Homer Simpson and it’s okay…all the other patrons are doing the same thing.
On to the Mole Enchiladas. Just imagine juicy, tender chicken, wrapped in a corn tortilla, and draped in a velvety blanket of rich mole sauce. The sides of refried beans and Spanish rice were also delicious, but I could not get enough of the mole sauce.
Our server shared with us that the recipe had over 30 ingredients. Try as I might, I couldn’t identify most of those flavors. Instead, the multifaceted spices melded together in a sensual dance of flavor that can only be described as lovely. It was flavorful without being spicy, and delicately smoky with just enough sweetness to balance out the earthy bitterness of the chiles used in the mole. All of these elements contributed to the mole’s sublime, complex, and sophisticated flavor.
Did I want to lick the plate? Yes. Yes, I did. Don’t judge.
I want to go off on another rant, this one on Flora’s Flan, but I’m saving that for another post. Let’s just say that it was an almost religious experience.
Flora Mexican Kitchen is a must on your ‘to-do’ list, your bucket list, or whatever list you have going. Whatever you want to call it, Flora can’t be missed.
The name ‘mole’ is derived from the Aztec word ‘chilmolli’ – ‘chil’ meaning chili and ‘molli’ meaning sauce. The Aztecs served it to emperors and as an offering to the Gods.
Aztec molli was mostly chile based and ground into a paste that was then diluted with a liquid and used to cook some type of protein. Influences from the Spaniards, Persian Moslems, Africans, and Asians contributed to the complex sauce that is enjoyed today. It’s believed that mole was the first ‘fusion’ food.
There are a few legends surrounding mole. One is that its creation took place in the early Colonial Period when a group of nuns at the Convent of Santa Clara in Puebla were unexpectedly visited by the Archbishop. In a panic to serve him something festive, the nuns threw together the bits of what little they had, including nuts, seeds, fruits, spices, day-old bread, and a bit of chocolate, to make a sauce. They then killed an old turkey, poached it, and covered it in the sauce.
Another version has a monk, Fray Pascual, making a turkey to serve the Archbishop of Puebla. A fierce wind knocked his cache of spices into the pot where his turkey was being cooked.
And yet another version has a Viceroy of New Spain visiting the convent or monastery.
Mole is traditionally a stand-alone sauce that’s poured over poached or roasted meats, usually poultry. It isn’t used as a condiment, but rather a building block of the dish.
Mole can be compared to French mother sauces, such as a bearnaise poured over a steak or a bechamel used in lasagna. Mole can be used as a sauce for enchiladas, burritos, and tacos, or poured over vegetables, rice, or beans. When thinned a bit, mole makes a great poaching liquid for chicken.
Rick Bayless once said that mole ingredients can be grouped into five classes or flavors: hot (the chiles), sour (tomatillos, white vinegar), sweet (raisins, chocolate, agave syrup), spice (cumin, thyme, Mexican oregano, etc.), and thickeners (nuts, bread, tortillas, seeds).
Should we toast the spices or not? Is it worth the effort? Does it make that much of a difference?
Toasting spices intensifies their flavor, adding a toasty complexity. If you have the time, it’s well worth the time to toast your whole spices and then grind them yourself.
So how do you do it? Well, first select a pan that is large enough that the spices can lie in a single layer. This will ensure that the spices toast evenly. Pick a pan with a thick and heavy bottom.
Place the pan over medium heat and when hot, add the spices. Shake the pan and allow the spices to toast on all sides, shaking often to prevent them from burning and to turn the spices, ensuring that they toast evenly. Toast until the spices are very fragrant, which will only take a few minutes.
Dump the spices into a glass bowl to cool completely. You want to remove them from the hot skillet or they will continue to cook, risking burning the spices and creating a bitter, off-putting flavor. When cooled, grind them with a mortar and pestle, coffee grinder, or food processor.
Classic Mole Poblano is a complex, rich sauce used in dishes for holidays and other celebrations. Four types of chiles, Mexican chocolate, nuts, seeds, and fruit blend together to create a thick sauce that is reddish-brown in color, smoky, earthy, and slightly sweet.
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
5 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium poblano, stemmed and roughly chopped (leave in the seeds if more heat is desired)
2 medium tomatillos, peeled and washed
⅓ cup bacon fat, more if needed
3 medium dried ancho chiles, washed, stemmed and seeded, cut into 4 pieces
3 medium dried mulato chiles, washed, stemmed and seeded, cut into 4 pieces
4 large pasilla chiles, washed, stemmed and seeded, cut into 4 pieces
2 medium chipotle chiles, washed, stemmed and seeded, cut into 4 pieces
6 cups chicken stock, divided
1 teaspoon white vinegar
½ cup skinned almonds
⅓ cup toasted sesame seeds
½ cup raisins or 4 snack-size
15-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes with their juice
2 small slices sourdough or bolillo bread, toasted until very dark, but not burnt, broken into pieces
2 corn tortillas, stale, torn into small pieces
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground anise seed
½ cup chopped Mexican chocolate
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or to taste)
3 tablespoons agave syrup (or to taste)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place the onion quarters, tomatillos, and whole poblano on the baking sheet.
Spray the vegetables very lightly with cooking spray.
Roast in the oven until the vegetables are charred on one side – about 5 minutes.
Carefully turn them and roast until they have a char on the other side – another 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
When the fat is shimmering, add the dried chiles and garlic. Stir to coat with the fat.
Cook, stirring often, until the chiles are fragrant – about 10 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to carefully spoon the mixture into a high-speed blender, reserving as much fat as possible.
Dump the roasted aromatic vegetables, along with any accumulated juices, into the blender.
Pour 2 cups of the broth into the blender as well. Set aside to allow the chile mixture to cool.
Next, add the sesame seeds, almonds, and raisins to the same Dutch oven. If the bottom of your pot isn’t covered with fat, add another tablespoon of the bacon fat.
Cook the mixture, stirring often, until the almonds begin to turn golden and the raisins plump – about 5 minutes.
Carefully scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Rinse the pot and set it aside.
Blend the chile mixture at the highest speed until as smooth as possible. Scrape down the sides a few times and continue to blend. Timing will depend on your blender. You may need to do this in batches, depending on your blender size.
Add the nut mixture and continue to blend.
Pour in additional broth if the mixture is too thick to blend properly.
Spoon a tablespoon of the bacon fat into the Dutch oven and melt over medium heat.
Scrape the pureed chile mixture into the Dutch oven.
Stir constantly and cook until the mixture darkens and thickens to a tomato paste consistency – about 10 minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes, white vinegar, toast pieces, tortilla pieces, all of the spices, 2 cups of the remaining broth, and the chocolate.
Reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Stir well and partially cover the pot with it’s lid, allowing enough space to allow moisture to evaporate. Use the spoon to break up the toast and tortilla pieces and the tomatoes.
Cook the mixture, stirring often to prevent sticking for 1 hour. Continue to break up the solids in the mole.
Add the agave syrup and any remaining broth and stir to combine.
Cover and continue to simmer for an additional 1 ½ hours or more until the mixture has a ketchup-like consistency. The longer the mixture simmers, the more the flavors meld together.
Use an immersion blender to smooth the mixture. Alternatively, you can spoon the mixture back into the blender to process.
For a very smooth and silky mole, spoon the mixture into a fine mesh strainer set over a large bowl. Use the back of a wooden spoon to push the mole through the strainer.
Taste and adjust for salt and sweetness. The mole should have a very slight sweet note to combat the bitterness of the chiles.
Cool the mole to room temperature.
