Authentic Mole Poblano

mole poblano sauce in an earthenware dish

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Authentic Mole Poblano

Authentic Mole Poblano is a traditional Mexican recipe for a classic complex sauce of a mixed chilli base (including poblanos) with tomatoes, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate that's used as a base sauce for other dishes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Mexican version of: Authentic Mole Poblano.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

50 minutes

Total Time:

70 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Chilli Recipes Sauce Recipes Vegetarian Recipes Spice Recipes Mexico Recipes

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This is the classic Mexican mole recipe made with poblano chillies and including 18 different ingredients. This is the mole sauce used for enmoladas, a traditional Mexican dish consisting of warm corn tortillas lightly fried, folded or rolled around a filling, and completely smothered in a rich, flavourful mole sauce. Note that piloncillo is lump sugar, a traditional cone of dark brown semi-refined sugarcane. This shape and type goes back to the production of Sugar in Mediterranean Europe during the 13th and 14th century (the classic sugar-loaf).

Ingredients:

7 dried ancho chillies, stems and seeds removed
6 dried mulato chillies, stems and seeds removed
6 dried pasilla chillies, stems and seeds removed
3 dried chipotle chillies, stems and seeds removed
1 small white onion, peeled and quartered
2 to 3 ripe plum tomatoes with a cross cut in the base
3 garlic cloves, peeled
120ml vegetable oil
1 bolillo bread roll, a couple of days old, sliced
2 corn tortillas, quartered
65g pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 ripe plantain, peeled and sliced into rounds
90g almonds
90g raw, unsalted, peanuts
100g raisins
50g sesame seeds
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
3 whole cloves
½ teaspoon anise seeds
115g (½ cone) piloncillo (4 oz)
1 tablilla (90g) Mexican chocolate (Ibarra)
1l water or vegetable stock
2 vegetable bouillon cubes (optional)
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Olive oil or avocado oil

Method:

Set a comal or heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the chillies and toast for 30 seconds per side. As always, take care not to burn them or the sauce will be bitter.Once they're lightly toasted transfer them in a heat proof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Set aside to soak for 15 minutes.

Whilst the chillies are soaking, bring a medium-sized pan of water to a simmer and add the tomato, onion quarters, and garlic cloves. Simmer for about 6 to 7 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to lose their skins and the onion is tender. Drain and add to a blender.

Once the chillies are soft and pliable, drain them and add to the blender with enough water to get the blender to puree smoothly (about 100ml). Transfer the resultant sauce to a large bowl.

Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil. Fry the bolillo slices, tortillas, plantain slices, almonds, peanuts, raisins, sesame seeds and whole spices one at a time until golden brown. Transfer to a large bowl once fried.

Once all the ingredients have been fried transfer them to a blender (working in batches) and adding enough water to get them to purée as a smooth sauce. Once puréed, turn into a bowl with the chilli sauce and stir to combine.

Set a large saucepan over medium heat and pour in the mole sauce. Bring just to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring constantly. When the fat separates and floats to the surface then add the piloncillo, vegetable bouillon, and chocolate. Return to a simmer and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until the piloncilo and chocolate have both completely dissolved.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Let cool in pan pot.

At this point the mole is ready to use or store.